DEFENCE

Air Training Corps: Disciplinary Proceedings

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  pursuant to the answer of 27 February 2012, Official Report, column 30W, on air training corps: disciplinary proceedings, how many of the outstanding cases from (a) 2010 and (b) 2011 are awaiting (i) reports and (ii) the outcome of investigations by (A) police forces and (B) auditors or accountants; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  how many of the cases outstanding in 2010 and 2011 are awaiting (a) reports and (b) the outcome of investigations by (i) police forces and (ii) auditors and accountants; and if he will make a statement.

Andrew Robathan: Of those personnel suspended in 2010, one individual is awaiting the outcome of a police investigation or court case and one is awaiting the outcome of internal administrative action. For those suspensions made in 2011, three individuals are awaiting the outcome of police investigations or court cases and six are awaiting the outcome of internal administrative action. None of these cases are subject to review by accountants or auditors.

Armed Forces

Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many members of the armed forces were (a) married, (b) cohabiting and (c) in a relationship when they joined the services in the latest period for which figures are available.

Andrew Robathan: holding answer 12 March 2012
	A personal status is recorded on the Joint Personnel Administration system on enlistment for the purposes of determining entitlement to some allowances and liability for dependent children, rather than the legal marital status of personnel. As these are private life matters there is no mandatory requirement for personnel to advise the Ministry of Defence if they are cohabiting or in a relationship.
	Any information which is held would be on manual records, and could be obtained only by undertaking a manual search of records on multiple sites. This information could therefore be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Armed Forces: Housing

Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will estimate the potential annual savings to his Department if married couples in the armed services were required to leave married living quarters after eight years of residence.

Andrew Robathan: The Future Accommodation Project is considering a range of options as part of the work on the New Employment Model (NEM). The NEM is tasked with developing a future employment model that is affordable and balances the aspirations of service personnel with the demands that service life makes on them.
	It is too early to speculate as to what savings may arise, as all NEM proposals are still in development.

Armed Forces: Housing

Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  what the budget for service married living quarters was in each year from 2000-01 to 2011-12; and what the planned budget is for 2012-13;
	(2)  what the armed forces housing budget was in each year from 2000-01 to 2011-12; and what it is planned to be in 2012-13.

Andrew Robathan: Due to changed responsibilities between parts of the MOD over this period, information is only held on a consistent basis in respect of housing in Great Britain. The budgets for service married living quarters in Great Britain since 2001 are shown in the following table:
	
		
			  £ million 
			 2001-02 307 
			 2002-03 288 
			 2003-04 330 
			 2004-05 318 
			 2005-06 350 
			 2006-07 371 
			 2007-08 394 
			 2008-09 405 
			 2009-10 422 
			 2010-11 429 
			 2011-12 435 
		
	
	After taking account of income from service personnel for rent and contributions in lieu of council tax and certain other costs, the overall budgets allocated for armed forces housing have been as follows:
	
		
			  £ million 
			 2001-02 193 
			 2002-03 170 
			 2003-04 204 
			 2004-05 189 
			 2005-06 220 
			 2006-07 240 
			 2007-08 261 
			 2008-09 270 
			 2009-10 282 
			 2010-11 286 
			 2011-12 288 
		
	
	The Department is in the process of finalising the Planning Round and final budgets for 2012-13 have not been set.

Armed Forces: Housing

Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  how many couples in each year since 2000 had lived in service married living quarters for a longer period than eight years;
	(2)  how many people in each year since 2000 had lived in service married living quarters for eight years;
	(3)  how many married couples were housed in service married living quarters in each year since 2000.

Andrew Robathan: As at 7 March 2012, 42,581 service family accommodation (SFA) were occupied. 36,466 families were in a marriage or civil partnership.
	Information on the number of occupied SFA per year (rounded to the nearest thousand) is shown in the following table:
	
		
			  Number of occupied SFA 
			 2000 50,000 
			 2001 49,000 
			 2002 46,000 
			 2003 45,000 
			 2004 45,000 
			 2005 44,000 
			 2006 42,000 
			 2007 41,000 
			 2008 41,000 
			 2009 42,000 
			 2010 42,000 
			 2011 43,000 
		
	
	Currently over 12,000 families have resided in SFA continually for the last eight years.
	Further information is not available.

Armed Forces: Housing

Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many service married living quarters there are in each (a) region, (b) local authority area and (c) constituency.

Andrew Robathan: A list of Service Family Accommodation (SFA) in each housing region as of 8 March 2012 is shown in the table.
	Data on SFA in each local authority area or constituency is not held.
	
		
			 Housing Region Location Total 
			 Central Area Abingdon 607 
			  Beaconsfield 86 
			  Benson 599 
			  Bicester 288 
			  Brize Norton 1,061 
			  Halton 395 
			  High Wycombe 796 
			  Shrivenham 567 
			 Total  4,399 
			    
			 East Area Bassingbourne 149 
			  Brampton 481 
			  Chicks Ands 255 
			  Chilwell 180 
			  Colchester 953 
			  Coltishall 27 
			  Cottesmore 458 
		
	
	
		
			  Grantham 59 
			  Henlow 418 
			  Honington 484 
			  Loughborough 30 
			  Marham 641 
			  Melton Mowbray 39 
			  North Luffenham 202 
			  Norwich 7 
			  Old Dalby 24 
			  Swanton Morley 237 
			  Waterbeach 312 
			  Wattisham 541 
			  Wigston 5 
			  Wimbish 251 
			  Wittering 453 
			  Woodbridge 257 
			 Total  6,463 
			    
			 Northern Area Bardney 16 
			  Catterick 1,753 
			  Coningsby 321 
			  Cranwell 360 
			  Brampton (Cumbria) 36 
			  Digby 211 
			  Dishforth 196 
			  Driffield 15 
			  Fulford 144 
			  Harrogate 136 
			  Kirton in Lindsey 57 
			  Leconfield 113 
			  Leeming 442 
			  Linton on Ouse 160 
			  RAF Boulmer 189 
			  Ripon 277 
			  Scampton 161 
			  South Yorks 6 
			  Strensall 183 
			  Topcliffe 175 
			  Tyne Tees 185 
			  Waddington 394 
			  West Yorks 3 
			  Whitby 28 
			 Total  5,561 
			    
			 Scotland and Northern Ireland Area Aldergrove 634 
			  Ballykinler 199 
			  Buchan 13 
			  Craigehall 130 
			  Dreghorn 167 
			  Glasgow 155 
			  Helensburgh 595 
			  Holywood 370 
		
	
	
		
			  Inverness 221 
			  Kinloss 243 
			  Leuchars 623 
			  Lisburn 481 
			  Lossiemouth 661 
			  Polton 275 
			  Redford 185 
			 Total  4,952 
			    
			 South East Area Aldershot 675 
			  Arborfield 440 
			  Ash Vale 32 
			  Biggin Hill 184 
			  Bordon 450 
			  Burghfield 74 
			  Chatham 667 
			  Chichester 63 
			  Church Crookham 598 
			  Connaught 161 
			  Dover 18 
			  Farnborough 31 
			  Gosport 697 
			  Hermitage 139 
			  London Centre 348 
			  Marchwood 26 
			  Middle Hill 513 
			  Northolt 403 
			  Northwood 372 
			  Odiham 441 
			  Pirbright 486 
			  Portsmouth 705 
			  Putney 329 
			  Rowner 854 
			  Sandhurst 798 
			  Shornecliffe 944 
			  Stamshaw 620 
			  Stanmore 218 
			  Uxbridge 290 
			  West Byfleet 340 
			  Winchester 178 
			  Windsor 454 
			  Woolwich 204 
			 Total  12,752 
			    
			 South West Area Blandford 782 
			  Bovington 348 
			  Bristol/Bath/Trowbridge 37 
			  Bulford/Tidworth 1,592 
			  Chivenor 292 
			  Colerne 370 
			  Corsham 267 
			  Crownhill 265 
			  Culdrose 304 
			  Exeter 36 
		
	
	
		
			  Ilchester 274 
			  Lympstone 258 
			  Lyneham 896 
			  Plymouth 649 
			  Plymstock 107 
			  Poole 178 
			  Salisbury Plain 3,227 
			  South Cerney 137 
			  St Mawgan 159 
			  Taunton 47 
			  Warminster 146 
			  West Moors 59 
			  Yeovil 202 
			 Total  10,632 
			    
			 West Area Bramcote 206 
			  Brecon 184 
			  Castlemartin 5 
			  Chepstow 195 
			  Chester 202 
			  Cosford 384 
			  Donnington/Market Drayton 241 
			  Haverfordwest 189 
			  Hereford 261 
			  Innsworth 525 
			  Kineton 116 
			  Lichfield 162 
			  Malvern 41 
			  Shawbury/Shrewsbury 185 
			  St Athan 335 
			  Stafford 226 
			  Telford 105 
			  Ternhill 180 
			  Valley 165 
			  Weeton 313 
			 Total  4,220 
			    
			 Grand total  48,979

Armed Forces: Housing

Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the average annual cost to the public purse of service married living quarters was in the latest year for which figures are available.

Andrew Robathan: The average annual cost to the public purse of providing service married quarters for each family occupying housing in Great Britain was some £7,400 in 2011-12. This cost does not, however, take account of depreciation charges on properties owned by the Department in Scotland and some properties in England and Wales.

Armed Forces: Housing

Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what employment options for reform of the housing system for married couples are being considered as part of his Department's new employment model.

Andrew Robathan: holding answer 12 March 2012
	I refer the hon. Member to the reply given by my noble Friend, Lord de Mauley, to the noble Lord, Lord Palmer of Childs Hill in another place on 1 March 2012, Official Report, House of Lords, column 1424.

Armed Forces: Life Insurance

Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  what the average compensation payment was to bereaved service families from PAX life insurance in (a) the last year, (b) the last five years and (c) the last 10 years;
	(2)  how many families have been paid compensation by PAX life insurance following the death of a family member serving in HM forces in (a) Iraq and (b) Afghanistan in each of the last 12 years.

Andrew Robathan: holding answer 8 March 2012
	Personal accident and life cover is voluntary and is separate from the benefits provided by the Ministry of Defence (MOD). We have a duty of care, however, to ensure that personal accident and life insurance cover is available to those service personnel who consider that they require it, and the MOD does this through the PAX and Service Life Insurance (SLI) schemes provided through Aon for PAX and the Sterling Insurance Group for SLI.
	The following information has been provided by Aon.
	The personal accident section of the PAX Plan provides compensation for death or permanent disability following an accident, on or off duty anywhere in the world. The amount of claim paid will depend on the level of cover purchased by the service person for themselves and, if applicable, their family. The benefit payable in respect of accidental death varies with the level of cover purchased, from £10,000 for the minimum cover, up to £150,000 for the maximum level of cover.
	Some 57 accidental death claims were paid in the last year, and 182 in the last five years. It is has not been possible in the time available to identify the number of accidental death claims in the last 10 years.
	Of the 57 deaths during the 12 months to 31 December 2011, 39 were as a result of injuries sustained in Afghanistan; there were none from Iraq.
	Of the 182 accidental death claims over the past five years, 133 were from personnel serving in Afghanistan; there were none from Iraq.
	Taking into account all claims paid for accidental death, the average payment was £102,982 during the past year and £92,991 in the past five years.
	If selected, the PAX Optional Life extension adds cover in respect of death due to natural causes.
	The average compensation payment to bereaved service families from PAX Life insurance is £111,667 in the last year to 31 December 2011, £68,548 for the last five years, and £62,135 for the last 10 years.
	The figures are in respect of death from natural causes and are for armed forces personnel and insured family members (claims for children under 16-years have been excluded).
	The Optional Life Extension Insurers regret that it has not been possible to identify natural causes deaths that occurred in either Afghanistan or Iraq, as completed files have been archived. However the number will be very small and unlike claims for accidental death, natural causes deaths will rarely be directly related to the location.
	The Sterling Life Group has provided the following information:
	From 2007-11 Service Life Insurance (SLI), the contracted MOD Life Insurance scheme, has paid 79 claims in total. Some 61 of these are considered operational deaths.
	The total claims paid from 2007-11 is £12,709,000, with the average claims payment to bereaved service families being £160,873.

Armed Forces: Mental Health

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  if he will establish procedures of continuous assessment of the psychological health of service personnel and the provision of guidance and assistance to then as necessary;
	(2)  what proportion of service personnel in each branch of the armed forces were undergoing psychological (a) testing and (b) training in the latest period for which information is available.

Andrew Robathan: The UK armed forces do not currently have a programme of mandatory mental health screening, because no robust research-based evidence has been produced to show that it is effective in identifying those people who do have a problem. In fact, research undertaken at the King's Centre for Mental Health Research (KCMHR) indicates that in some circumstances it can actually be harmful, by presenting significant numbers of both false positive and false negative results. However, we have undertaken to commission new research into the question, and the major post-operational screening trial (POST) being conducted at the King's Centre for Mental Health Research (KCMHR) in conjunction with the US Department of Defense, which is due to report in 2015, is looking at the effectiveness of post-deployment testing and monitoring of personnel.
	We do of course already have a wide range of measures in place to provide advice, support and treatment to service personnel. We are ensuring that all routine medical examinations contain a specific mental health assessment, including those carried out on recruits and those preparing to leave the services. More specific examinations will also form a part of the medical treatment provided for those who have been diagnosed with a mental health disorder, either in unit medical centres, MOD departments of community mental health, or in specialist NHS in-patient units. No overall figures are collated for all the various forms of assessments and examinations, and these could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
	Throughout their careers service personnel receive regular briefings and training on the identification and management of both operational and workplace stress, including recognising its signs in their colleagues. A key factor in all briefings is reducing the stigma that can be attached to mental health disorders. The services maintain a confidential support line that provides a fully trained, confidential, independent and non-judgmental listening and support service, and welfare officers, padres, and members of regimental organisations are all able to provide advice and support. For those seeking help online, the Defence internet website provides information on how to get advice and help urgently, and we are currently trialling access for service personnel to the 'Big White Wall' online early intervention service for people in psychological distress.
	In April 2010, the MOD set up the stress management training centre (SMTC) at the Defence academy to co-ordinate the provision of training on the identification and management of both operational and workplace stress. Its intention is to ensure that all service personnel will receive regular briefings and training, starting during their initial training and reinforced and developed during a range of career development and promotion courses. Specific training is available for those going on operations, and this is provided before, during and after their deployment. Because of the wide variety of training provided, and the different organisations involved in its delivery, it is not possible to provide a specific number of those receiving training for any given period.

Armed Forces: Mental Health

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will (a) release anonymised data on the mental health of UK service personnel to research establishments and (b) commission research on improving (i) the mental health of service personnel and (ii) the negative social effects of poor mental health of service personnel.

Andrew Robathan: A large amount of personal data on the mental health of UK service personnel have been collected by researchers working for the King's Centre for Military Health Research (KCMHR), as part of its major independent study, sponsored by the Ministry of Defence (MOD), into the impact of deployment on the overall health and well-being of military personnel deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan. Many of the findings from this research have already been published in a range of peer-reviewed medical literature, and are available through the KCMHR website at:
	www.kcl.ac.uk/kcmhr/index.aspx
	The MOD values this very important study and will ensure its findings inform future policy to enhance the health and well-being of military personnel during their service career and beyond.

Challenger Tanks

Andrew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what progress he has made with the Article 36 legal review of CHARM3; and if he will make a statement.

Nick Harvey: The review is close to completion and will report to MOD Ministers shortly. The review conclusion will be published shortly.

Departmental Ethnic Minority Staff

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many and what proportion of senior civil servants in his Department were from an ethnic minority in March (a) 2010, (b) 2011 and (c) 2012; and if he will make a statement.

Andrew Robathan: The information requested is provided in the following tables:
	
		
			 Senior civil service—ethnicity breakdown for 1 January 2010, 2011 and 2012 
			 Headcount 
			  As at January each year 
			 Ethnicity 2010 2011 2012 
			 Black and Minority Ethnic 5 5 5 
			 White 265 245 230 
			 Grand total 270 250 235 
			 Source: DASA (Quad) 
		
	
	
		
			 Ethnicity proportion SCS and MOD core comparison 
			 Percentage 
			  As at January each year 
			  2010 2011 2012 
			 SCS 2.6 2.8 2.6 
			 Total MOD core 3.2 3.3 3.6 
			 Notes: 1. All numbers have been rounded to the nearest five and may not sum precisely to totals. 2. All numbers exclude trading funds, Royal Fleet Auxiliary personnel and locally engaged civilians. 3. Percentage rates are calculated on raw unrounded numbers, listed SCS rates are compared to total MOD core, at each time point differences between SCS rates and total MOD core rates are not statistically significant. 4. Information for March 2012 is not yet available so comparative figures for January have been provided. 
		
	
	Although the numbers of Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) senior civil service staff may be too low to show, they are within the expected range based on representation in the Ministry of Defence in general. There is no significant difference in the representation of Black and Minority Ethnic personnel across grades.

Libya: Armed Conflict

Sheryll Murray: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the estimated cost per vehicle was of (a) fuel, (b) road tolls, (c) accommodation and (d) other logistics of a return trip from the UK to each base in Italy by logistical support provided by No. 2 Mechanical Transport squadron during Operation Ellamy.

Nick Harvey: The estimated cost of transporting supplies and materials by road to Italy by military vehicles is in the region of £1.6 million. This was done by 2 Mechanical Transport Squadron and comprised around 400 vehicle moves to Trapani and Gioia Dell Colle. There were also additional road moves made by contracted commercial carriers.
	The costs for each trip were dependent upon the destination in Italy and changes due to operational requirements. However, the typical cost per vehicle was around £2,000 for fuel, £650 for road tolls, around £300 for accommodation and other personal costs for drivers and around £500 for Eurotunnel costs.

Libya: Armed Conflict

Sheryll Murray: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many hire cars were rented for official use by personnel deployed to Italy during Operation Ellamy; and how many personnel on average used each car.

Nick Harvey: At the height of operations around 100 hire vehicles were rented for official use by personnel deployed to Italy supporting Operation Ellamy. This was to support around 900 personnel.

Libya: Armed Conflict

Sheryll Murray: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what criteria were used when deciding where to accommodate personnel deployed to Italy during Operation Ellamy.

Nick Harvey: At the time of Operation Ellamy the Ministry of Defence assessed the most appropriate accommodation for personnel supporting the operation, looking at a range of options from tented or prefabricated units to apartments or hotel accommodation. These assessments included the value for money of each type of accommodation, as well as security considerations and took into account the impact on operations of, for example, travel time to place of work and amenities available at the accommodation. Contracts were entered into based on our best estimate of the duration and the evolving nature of the operation.

Middle East

Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  when (a) he, (b) each Minister in his Department and (c) senior officials of his Department last met their counterparts in (i) Oman, (ii) UAE, (iii) Malaysia, (iv) Qatar, (v) Saudi Arabia and (vi) India;
	(2)  when (a) he, (b) each Minister in his Department and (c) senior officials in his Department last had discussions concerning the Eurofighter Typhoon with their counterparts in (i) Oman, (ii) UAE, (iii) Malaysia, (iv) Qatar, (v) Saudi Arabia and (vi) India;
	(3)  when (a) he and (b) his senior civil servants last visited (i) Oman, (ii) UAE, (iii) Malaysia, (iv) Qatar, (v) Saudi Arabia and (vi) India.

Gerald Howarth: holding answer 12 March 2012
	The Ministry of Defence (MOD) recognises the benefit Typhoon orders can have on our own Typhoon acquisition programme. That is why Ministers and officials from the MOD are engaged in an active and innovative defence diplomacy initiative to promote Typhoon and other British defence and security exports.
	As well as when meeting direct overseas counterparts, Ministers and officials are engaging in extensive consultation on Typhoon at all levels.
	The following table shows when each Minister and senior official last held discussions with their direct counterpart. In the case of the Defence Senior Advisor Middle East, who has no direct counterpart, his last engagement with Ministers or officials from that country are recorded. Discussions about exports, including Typhoon, form a routine part of such international engagements.
	
		
			  Oman UAE Malaysia Qatar Saudi Arabia India 
			 Secretary of State for Defence No record of meeting counterpart March 2012 No record of meeting counterpart January 2012 December 2011 July 2012 
			 Minister for Defence Equipment Support and Technology No record of meeting counterpart No record of meeting counterpart No record of meeting counterpart No record of meeting counterpart No record of meeting counterpart July 2011 
			 Minister for International Security Strategy September 2011 February 2011 January 2012 November 2011 December 2010 February 2012 
			 Under Secretary of State for Defence January 2012 No record of meeting counterpart January 2012 December 2011 No record of meeting counterpart No record of meeting counterpart 
			 Chief of Defence Staff December 2011 February 2012 No record of meeting counterpart January 2012 April 2011 No record of meeting counterpart 
			 Permanent Under-Secretary No record of meeting counterpart No record of meeting counterpart June 2011 No record of meeting counterpart December 2011 February 2012 
			 Chief of Naval Staff February 2012 No record of meeting counterpart May 2011 December 2011 No record of meeting counterpart October 2011 
			 Chief of General Staff December 2011 No record of meeting counterpart November 2010 No record of meeting counterpart December 2011 February 2012 
			 Chief of Air Staff February 2012 November 2011 December 2011 February 12 September 2011 February 2012 
			 Defence Senior Advisor Middle East February 2012 February 2012 Not appropriate March 2012 February 2012 Not appropriate 
		
	
	We do not have any records of discussions between the Minister for the Armed Forces, my hon. Friend the Member for North Devon (Nick Harvey), and the Minister for Defence Personnel Veterans and Welfare, my right hon. Friend the Member for South Leicestershire (Mr Robathan), and their counterparts.

NATO: Military Exercises

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  what assets and how many service personnel were involved in NATO exercise (a) Cold Response, (b) Atlantis, (c) Joint Warrior, (d) NATO Tiger Meet and (e) Oceanis in each of the last 5 years;
	(2)  what assets and how many service personnel will participate in NATO exercise (a) Cold Response, (b) Atlantis, (c) Joint Warrior, (d) NATO Tiger Meet and (e) Oceanis in 2012.

Nick Harvey: Details of the known assets and numbers of personnel involved in NATO exercises detailed for 2012 and the previous five years are as follows:
	
		
			 2012 
			 Exercise Assets Total number of personnel 
			 Cold Response Navy 1 x Landing Platform Dock ship, 1 x Landing Platform Helicopter ship, Royal Marine Commando Amphibious Forces Joint Helicopter Command—a tailored Air Group—not yet confirmed c.1,000 
			 Atlantis No involvement  
			 Joint Warrior 12-2 Not yet available  
			 Joint Warrior 12-1 Not yet confirmed  
			 Tiger Meet Not yet available  
			 Oceanis No involvement  
		
	
	
		
			 2011 
			 Exercise Assets Total number of personnel 
			 Cold Response No participation  
			 Atlantis No involvement  
			 Joint Warrior 11-2 Navy 1 x Landing Platform Helicopter Ship, 1 x Landing Platform Dock Ship, 2 x Type 23 Frigate, 2 x Mine Counter Measures Vessel (Sandown Class), 3 x Mine Counter Measures Vessel (Hunt Class), 1 x Ship Submersible Nuclear (Submarine), 4 x Merlin helicopter, 1 x Lynx helicopter (1)c.7,200 
			  Army 16 Air Assault Brigade, 3 Battalion the Parachute Regiment Battle Gp, 12 Regiment Royal Artillery, 7 Para Royal Horse Artillery, 2 Medical Brigade, Joint Air Picture Provision to the Land Environment, 1 Division/3 Division Forward Air Controller, Joint Ground Based Air Defence, Joint Helicopter Command—4 x Lynx helicopter, 2 x Sea King helicopter, 3 x Attack Helicopter (1)— 
			  RAF 4 x Tornado strike aircraft, 4 x Typhoon fast jet aircraft, 2 x Hawk trainer aircraft, 1 x E-3D Surveillance/airborne command and aircraft, 1 x Sentinel Reconnaissance aircraft, 1 x VC10 transport/air-fuelling aircraft, 1 x TriStar long range transport aircraft, RAF Regiment (1)— 
			 Joint Warrior 11-1 Navy 1 x Type 45 Destroyer, 2 x Type 42 Destroyer, 4 x Type 23 Frigate, 3 x Mine Counter Measures vessel (S), 2 x Mine Counter Measures vessel (H), 1 x Landing Ship Dock, 1 x Auxiliary Fleet Supply Ship (Helicopter), 1 x Ship Submersible Nuclear (Submarine), 3 x Sea King Airborne Surveillance and Control helicopter , 4 x Merlin helicopter, 6 x Lynx helicopter, Fleet Protection Group Royal Marines (1)c.6,200 
			  Army 15 Psychological Operations Group, 3 (UK) Division, Joint Air Picture Provision to the Land Environment, 16 Regiment Royal Artillery, UK Air Support Operations Centre, B Squadron Household Cavalry Regiment (1)— 
			  RAF 8 x Tornado strike aircraft, 4 x Typhoon fast jet, 4x Hawk trainer aircraft, 1 x E-3D surveillance and airborne command and control aircraft, 1 x Sentinel reconnaissance aircraft (1)— 
			 Tiger Meet 1 x Merlin helicopter c.15 
			 Oceanis No involvement  
			 (1) Indicates brace 
		
	
	
		
			 2010 
			 Exercise Assets Total number of personnel 
			 Cold Response Navy 1 x Landing Platform Helicopter ship, 1 x Landing Platform Dock ship, Royal Marines Commando Amphibious Forces, Royal Marines Commando Sub Unit Joint Helicopter Command—2 x Chinook helicopter, 3 x Sea King helicopter, 3 x Lynx Helicopter c.2,000 
			 Atlantis No involvement  
			 Joint Warrior 10-2 Navy 1 x Carrier Vertical Strike Ship, 1 x Type 42 Destroyer, 2 x Type 23 Frigate, 3 x Mine Counter Measures Vessel (S), 3 x Mine Counter Measures Vessel (H), 1 x Auxiliary Oil Replenishment (Helicopter) ship, 1 x Primary Casualty Reception Ship, 1 x Landing Ship Dock, 1 x Survey Ship, 1 x Patrol Boat, 2 x Ship Submersible Nuclear submarine, 1 x Merlin helicopter, 10 x Lynx helicopter, 1 x Sea King helicopter, 29 Commando Regiment Royal Artillery , Fleet Protection Group Royal Marines, 6 Assault Squadron Royal Marines (1)c.6,200 
			  Army 15 Psychological Operations Group, 17 Port and Maritime Regiment, 23 Pioneer Regt, 29 Regiment Royal Logistic Corps, 32 Battery Royal Artillery, 16 Regiment Royal Artillery, Joint Air Picture Provision to the Land Environment, UK Air Support Operations Centre, Spearhead Lead Element Company Joint Helicopter Command—2 x Puma helicopter, 2 x Merlin helicopter, 2 x Sea King helicopter (1)— 
			  RAF 9 x Tornado strike aircraft, 4 x Hawk trainer aircraft, 1 x E-3D surveillance and airborne command and control aircraft, 1 x Sentinel reconnaissance aircraft, 2 x Puma helicopter, 2 (Motor Transport) Squadron, 85 Expeditionary Logistics Wing RAF (1)— 
			 Joint Warrior 10-1 Navy 1 x Carrier Vertical Strike 2 x Type 42 Destroyer, 4 x Type 23 Frigate, 1 x Mine Counter Measures Vessel (S), 2 x Mine Counter Measures Vessel (H), 1 x Auxiliary Oil Replenishment Ship (Helicopter), 1 x Primary Casualty Reception Ship, 1 x Ship Submersible Nuclear submarine, 8 x Harrier jet, 5 x Merlin helicopter, 3 x Lynx helicopter, 2 x Sea King Airborne Surveillance and Control helicopter, 29 Commando Regiment Royal Artillery (1)c.6,180 
			  Army 2 Motor Transport Squadron, 148 Battery Royal Artillery, 16 Air Assault Brigade (1)— 
			  RAF 8 x Tornado strike aircraft, 4 x Typhoon fast jet, 4 x Hawk trainer aircraft, 1 x E-3D surveillance and airborne command and control aircraft, 1 x Sentinel reconnaissance aircraft (1)— 
			 Tiger Meet No participation  
			 Oceanis No involvement  
			 (1) Indicates brace 
		
	
	
		
			 2009 
			 Exercise Assets Total number of personnel 
			 Cold Response No participation  
			 Atlantis No involvement  
			 Joint Warrior 09-2 Navy 1 x Carrier Vertical Strike, 2 x Type 23 Frigate 3 x Mine Counter Measures vessels (S), 2 x Ship Submersible Nuclear submarine, 3 x Merlin helicopter, 1 x Lynx helicopter, 2 x Sea King Airborne Surveillance and Control helicopter, 29 Commando Regiment Royal Artillery (1)c.6,300 
			  Army 1 Regiment Army Air Corps, Joint Air Picture Provision to the Land Environment, 16 Air Assault Brigade, 16 Regiment Royal Artillery, 148 Battery Royal Artillery (1)— 
			  RAF 2 x Nimrod Intelligence Surveillance Targeting Acquisition Reconnaissance aircraft, 12 x Tornado strike aircraft, 4 x Typhoon fast jet, 8 x Harrier Jet aircraft, 2 x Hawk trainer aircraft, 1 x E-3D surveillance and airborne command and control aircraft, 1 x Sentinel reconnaissance aircraft (1)— 
			 Joint Warrior 09-1 No records held c.6,400 
			 Tiger Meet 1 x Merlin helicopter c.15 
			 Oceanis No involvement  
			 (1) Indicates brace 
		
	
	
		
			 2008 
			 Exercise Assets Total number of personnel 
			 Cold Response Navy 1 x Landing Platform Dock ship, 1 x Landing Platform ship Helicopter, 1 x Landing Ship Dock, 3 Commando Brigade Royal Marines Joint Helicopter Command—info not held c.2,000 
			 Atlantis No involvement  
			 Joint Warrior 08-2 No records held c.5,800 
			 Joint Warrior 08-1 No records held c.5,400 
			 Tiger Meet Navy 1 x Merlin helicopter (1)c.15 
			  RAF 230 Squadron no records held (1)— 
			 Oceanis No involvement  
			 (1) Indicates brace 
		
	
	
		
			 2007 
			 Exercise Assets Total number of personnel 
			 Cold Response Navy  No records held  
			  RAF No records held  
			 Atlantis No involvement  
			 Joint Warrior 07-2 No records held c.5,800 
			 Joint Warrior 07-1 No records held c.6,000 
			 Tiger Meet 1 x Merlin helicopter c.15 
			 Oceanis No involvement

Private Education

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much his Department paid to send the children of civil servants to (a) private boarding schools, (b) private day schools and (c) Eton College in (i) 2010-11 and (ii) 2011-12; how much he expects to allocate for such purposes in 2012-13; and if he will make a statement.

Andrew Robathan: The civilian boarding school allowance is only paid to Ministry of Defence (MOD) civil servants appointed overseas. It ceases on return to the UK. MOD assistance with school fees is restricted to 90% of the actual boarding or day fees subject to a maximum ceiling. From 1 September 2010, where service children's education (SCE) schools exist in an overseas area, employees have been expected to use them.
	Total costs for financial year (FY) 2009-10, 2010-11 and 2011-12 paid to send the children of civil servants to private boarding schools in the UK were:
	
		
			 Financial year Cost rounded to the nearest £1,000 
			 2009-10 972,000 
			 2010-11 918,000 
			 2011-12(1) 810,000 
			 (1) For the period 1 April 2011 to 21 February 2012. 
		
	
	There are currently no children attending private day school in the UK or at Eton College.
	In regard to financial years 2012-13, the MOD expects that the total cost spent on boarding school fees will decrease slightly from the previous financial year. From 1 September 2010 where SCE schools exist in an overseas area, civilian staff are expected to use them. There is no provision for sending the child to a boarding school/day school at departmental expense through choice or because of particular courses of study not covered by SCE overseas. In addition with the Department decreasing the number of civilian appointments overseas, it is expected that the requirement for use of boarding or day school allowances in the UK will continue to decrease.

RAF Lossiemouth

Menzies Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has for the future use of the Tornado Simulator at RAF Lossiemouth.

Nick Harvey: Following decisions on the reduction of the Tornado fleet the future requirement for training simulators is under review. No decisions have yet been taken on the future of the simulator at RAF Lossiemouth.

Serco

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what consultation process his Department undertook in relation to the announcement that Serco would become the new partner in his Department's Defence Business Services.

Andrew Robathan: Formal trade union consultation was undertaken in relation to the creation of Defence Business Services (DBS) and the proposal to consider bringing in commercial management to provide strategic management of DBS. The trade unions have been regularly engaged throughout the project including during the procurement process.

Serco

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the terms and conditions are of the standstill period in relation to the recent bid from Serco for his Department's Defence Business Services.

Andrew Robathan: The standstill period is a legal requirement that installs a waiting period of 10 calendar days between communicating the award decision to all tenderers and contract conclusion.

Serco

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what level of business risk has been taken by SERCO; and what has been retained by his Department in respect of the Defence Business Services contract.

Andrew Robathan: Business risk in relation to this contract can be categorised as financial risk and operational risk. When the contract is signed, financial risk will be transferred to Serco, as the incentivised payments under the contract will not be made unless efficiencies are delivered. Operational risk remains with the Ministry of Defence (MOD) to the extent that the MOD will carry the consequences if corporate services are not delivered to a satisfactory standard. However, an element of this risk will be transferred to Serco as failure to perform against key performance indicators will be subject to a financial penalty.

Serco

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the level of public accountability of Serco in respect of its contract for Defence Business Services.

Andrew Robathan: The chief executive of Defence Business Services, who will be part of the Serco management team, will be given financial delegations by the Ministry of Defence (MOD)'s Second Permanent Secretary, and will be accountable to him. In discharging their financial and other management responsibilities, the Serco management team will be required to comply with all relevant legislation and with all relevant Government and MOD policy, including Managing Public Money. The MOD's Permanent Secretary retains ultimate public accountability.

Serco

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the ability of Serco to deliver services better than civil servants at Defence Business Services.

Andrew Robathan: The intent to award a contract to Serco was taken on the grounds of an assessment of a number of factors, including confidence in delivery. A thorough evaluation of the bid was undertaken by the Ministry of Defence's subject matter experts. Serco will provide a management team to work with existing Defence Business Services staff to transform the organisation, building on private sector best practice.

Serco

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence for what reason he approved the contract with Serco for activities previously delivered by Defence Business Services.

Andrew Robathan: Defence Business Services (DBS) will continue to deliver the services they are delivering today, under the leadership of Serco who will provide a management team to work with existing DBS staff to transform the organisation, building on private sector best practice.

Serco

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will meet trade unions representing staff transferred to Serco from Defence Business Services.

Andrew Robathan: Defence Business Services staff will remain Ministry of Defence employees. Trade union engagement will continue via the normal channels.

Veterans: Suicide

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 20 June 2011 to the hon. Member for Midlothian, Official Report, column 40W, on ex-servicemen: suicide, if he will publish interim findings of the research on the causes of death of all serving members of the armed forces since 2003; and when he expects the final findings of the study to be published.

Andrew Robathan: In 2003, the Ministry of Defence (MOD) commissioned research into the health of military personnel deployed to Iraq. In 2006, the study was extended for three years and broadened to include all subsequent Iraq deployments as well as deployments to Afghanistan. This research programme now follows a cohort of over 20,000 serving and former members of the armed forces. The study was extended for a further three years to maintain the database and further explore the data obtained in Phases 1 and 2. Key early findings are that:
	The overall mental health of the Armed Forces is good and prevalence of disorders among Service personnel is generally in line with the rest of the population.
	Some 13% of respondents displayed evidence of alcohol misuse, compared to a similar figure in the general population. Increased use is associated with operational deployment.
	Some 4% of respondents displayed symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (compared with 3-7% in the general population).
	Common mental health disorders, such as anxiety and depression, are more prevalent, with 19.7% of service personnel studied experiencing them.
	Deployment on operations was associated with a small increase in symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder in reservists (5%). This should be viewed against the very low prevalence of symptoms for reservists (1.8%) who did not deploy on operations.
	It is the MOD's intention to publish the results of this study in 2013. However, this is dependent upon the time required to process and analyse the data by Defence Analytical Services and Advice and the National Health Service Information Centre.

WALES

Remploy

Hywel Francis: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales 
	(1)  what recent discussions she has had with (a) the Welsh Government, (b) trade unions and (c) disability groups on the future of Remploy factories in Wales; and if she will make a statement;
	(2)  what recent discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on the recent announcement of proposed closures of Remploy factories in Wales; and if she will make a statement.

Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales 
	(1)  what discussions she has made to the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on Remploy closures in Wales;
	(2)  what representations she has made to the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on the closure of Remploy factories in Wales.

David Jones: The Secretary of State for Wales, my right hon. Friend the Member for Chesham and Amersham (Mrs Gillan), and I have discussed the future of Remploy factories in Wales with both Welsh Government Ministers and ministerial colleagues at the Department for Work and Pensions as the lead Department, particularly in light of the Sayce review recommendations last July. The Secretary of State requested details from officials of the Department for Work and Pensions on the Welsh proposals.
	The Remploy Board will consider proposals for the exit of parts of businesses or contracts from those factories proposed for closure along with other proposals for avoiding compulsory redundancies. Subject to the outcome of the consultation process, all disabled employees in every location will receive a comprehensive personalised package of support to help them into alternative employment.

HOME DEPARTMENT

Police National Computer

Yvette Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether responsibility for the police national computer will transfer from the National Policing Improvement Agency to the National Crime Agency; and on what date any such transfer will take place.

Theresa May: holding answer 1 March 2012
	I announced to Parliament in a written ministerial statement on 15 December 2011, Official Report, columns 125-7WS, plans to phase-out the National Policing Improvement Agency (NPIA), which currently operates the PNC. The Home Office is reviewing all of the NPIA's functions to identify successor bodies for the critical national services it provides.

Animal Experiments

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what her policy is on licensing mouse bioassays to detect shellfish toxins; for which type of toxin and species of shellfish such licences are issued; and if she will make a statement.

Lynne Featherstone: holding answer 12 March 2012
	Regulations EC 15/2011, EC 2074/2005, EC853/2004 and EC854/2004 set out the relevant EU requirements. The Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 allows the use of the mouse bioassay (MBA) to detect and quantify marine biotoxins in shellfish.
	During 2011 significant progress was made in the use of non-animal methods and currently the majority of testing of shellfish for both paralytic shellfish (PSP) toxins and lipophilic toxins, (otherwise known as DSP) is now carried out using non-animal methods. Alternative methods have now been validated and accepted by the competent authority for food hygiene, the Foods Standards Agency, for the species of shellfish that are tested most frequently, which includes mussels, oysters and clams.
	The small amount of residual use of the mouse bioassay is due to the alternative methods not having been validated for some types of samples, for example non-bivalve molluscs. Testing of non-bivalve species is only permissible, as an alternative, when bivalve molluscs cannot be used as a marker species. Over time the level of such testing should reduce further as information from these tests form part of the process of validating the non-animal method.
	To protect human health and to meet food safety regulations the licence also covers the contingency of having to use the mouse bioassay should the sole world provider of certain essential substances required for the non-animal chemical methods be unable to provide them and also for the investigation of unexplained intoxication incidents.

Appeals: Mohamed Ami

Fiona Mactaggart: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department on what date the determination of the successful appeal of Mohamed Amir, FCO number 14866, appeal number OA/63095/200, which was allowed on 11 November 2010, was notified to the British embassy in Abu Dhabi.

Damian Green: holding answer 8 March 2012
	This application was lodged in Pakistan and subsequently refused in October 2009. There is no record of the UK Border Agency (UKBA) being notified of an appeal being lodged. The appeal determination was, however, promulgated on 11 November 2010.
	Due to administrative errors, the visa section in Abu Dhabi did not receive a copy of this determination until 7 March 2012. UKBA apologises for any inconvenience caused to the applicant. This case is now being finalised as a matter of priority.

Asylum: Lewisham

Joan Ruddock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate she has made of the number of (a) refugees and (b) asylum seekers without recourse to public funds in Lewisham, Deptford constituency; and how many such refugees and asylum seekers are children.

Damian Green: There are no refugees or asylum seekers without recourse to public funds living in Lewisham or any other part of the United Kingdom.
	Refugees who are granted leave to remain in the United Kingdom can access mainstream welfare benefits. Asylum seekers who are destitute cannot access these benefits, but are supported by the UK Border Agency until their asylum claims are decided. Unaccompanied asylum seeking children are supported by local authorities under the Children Act 1989.

Crimes of Violence: Pedicabs

Frank Dobson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) sexual assaults and (b) other assaults by drivers of pedicabs and rickshaws plying for hire were reported to the police in the last year for which figures are available.

Lynne Featherstone: The information requested is not available from the police recorded crime statistics held by the Home Office.

Extradition: Christopher Tappin

Chris Williamson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will assess the implications of the extradition of Christopher Tappin for her Department's policies; and if she will bring forward legislative proposals to amend the law on extradition.

Damian Green: The UK-US extradition treaty was one of the areas considered by the independent extradition review, which took the implications of many extradition cases into account in the course of their deliberations. The Secretary of State for the Home Department, my right hon. Friend the Member for Maidenhead (Mrs May), is currently giving the review panel's recommendations careful consideration and the Government will announce what action they will take in due course.

Food

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proportion of food procured by her Department (a) meets the Government Buying Standards for Food and Catering and (b) is from British sources.

Damian Green: The Home Office does not directly contract for food supplies but procures catering services through wider facilities management or operating service contracts. Suppliers have been made aware of the Government Buying Standard (GBS) criteria and will report against GBS criteria on the Home Office website.

Foreign Workers: Domestic Service

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how migrant domestic workers who have experienced unlawful working conditions will be able to pursue employment claims against their employers under the changes to the domestic worker visa.

Damian Green: Employers will be required, in accordance with the Employment Rights Act 1996, to give the domestic worker a written statement of their particulars of employment in the UK. Employees, including overseas domestic workers, who consider that those particulars are not met may make a claim to an employment tribunal, provided they do so within three months of leaving the employment.

Human Trafficking

Tom Blenkinsop: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether she has made an assessment of the effect of appointing an independent national rapporteur on human trafficking on levels of information about human trafficking available to (a) the Government, (b) the UK Border Agency and (c) police forces.

Damian Green: The Inter-Departmental Ministerial Group on Human Trafficking will be the UK Government's national rapporteur mechanism. It will assess trends in human trafficking using data provided by the UK Human Trafficking Centre as the central intelligence hub.

Human Trafficking

Justin Tomlinson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department in which countries (a) within and (b) outside the European Union the Government funds projects to tackle human trafficking.

Damian Green: The Department for International Development (DFID) currently funds the Malawi Anti-Child Trafficking project, run by the Salvation Army. This project aims to improve knowledge of and access to rights for children in Malawi who have been trafficked or are vulnerable to being trafficked.
	DFID is also currently designing a new South Asia regional programme which will focus especially on reducing trafficking of women and girls in India, Bangladesh and Nepal, focusing on the garment and domestic work sectors.
	The UK Human Trafficking Centre (UKHTC), part of the Serious Organised Crime Agency, is working with others on, and partly funding, a UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) led project focused on Nigeria as a source country.

Members: Correspondence

Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she plans to answer the letter from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton of 2 February 2012 with regard to Mrs Nita Malata.

Damian Green: I refer the right hon. Member to my letter of 21 February 2012.

National Crime Agency: UK Border Agency

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the relationship will be between the UK Border Force and the National Crime Agency.

Damian Green: Both the Border Force and the Border Policing Command (which is part of the National Crime Agency), will be critical to delivering increased security at the border. They will act collaboratively to tackle threats at the border through improved tasking arrangements; better intelligence gathering and sharing, and mutual sharing of assets.

Naturalisation

Ian Paisley Jnr: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many applications for UK naturalisation have been received in each of the last three years; and how many have been successful.

Damian Green: British citizenship can be granted as either naturalisation or registration, Figures for grants of naturalisation and registration are given in the following table.
	
		
			 British citizenship applications and grants by general category 
			    Of which: 
			  Applications Total decisions taken to grant Grants of naturalisation Grants of registration 
			 2009 193,810 203,789 152,101 51,688 
			 2010 199,767 195,046 140,709 54,337 
			 2011 205,210 177,878 130,352 47,526 
			 Notes: 1. Derived from tables cz.01 and cz.02 of 'Immigration Statistics October-December 2011'. 2. Decisions ("Grants of naturalisation and Grants of registration") may not relate to applications made in the same year. Source: Home Office Statistics, Migration Statistics 
		
	
	Figures of applications for naturalisation are not published separately; however, figures for total applications for British citizenship are published regularly and are also shown in the table.
	The available statistics of British citizenship grants reflect decisions made in each year and so may not relate to applications made in the same year.
	The latest Home Office immigration statistics on persons applying for British citizenship and being granted naturalisation and registration as British citizens are given in tables ‘cz.01’ and ‘cz.02’ of the statistical release ‘Immigration Statistics October-December 2011’. This publication is available from the Library of the House and from the Home Office Science website at:
	http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/publications/science-research-statistics/research-statistics/immigration-asylum-research/immigration-q4-2011

Organised Crime: Colombia

John Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps her Department is taking to prevent members of Columbian crime gangs from entering the UK.

Damian Green: Police forces across the UK, but primarily in London and the home counties, are investigating a series of burglaries that have resulted in the arrests of over 60 foreign nationals.
	The ACPO Criminal Records Office (ACRO) has UK-wide responsibility for making requests for criminal conviction information from other countries across the world. In this case, ACRO has made requests to the Colombian law enforcement authorities to check the identities of all those who have currently come to the notice of the police. We are also working closely with the UK Border Agency in Colombia in relation to these individuals.

Passports

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent assessment she has made of the acting profession as an appropriate reference on passport applications.

Damian Green: The Identity and Passport Service issues information to customers on the completion of application forms. This includes the use of countersignatories and guidance on possible occupations that may be considered suitable to verify the person's application. This is to assist applicants and is meant as a guide rather than being an exhaustive list of occupations. The occupation of the countersignatory is not a determining factor in considering whether a passport should be issued.

Police: Court Orders

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether she plans to review the annual data requirement of police forces in respect of production orders.

Nick Herbert: We have no plans to carry out such a review.
	The annual data requirement is considered carefully with a view to reducing the bureaucratic burden on police forces and, as an operational matter which is subject to judicial oversight, we do not see the need to collect this information.

Regulation

Gordon Banks: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many regulations her Department has repealed between 1 June 2011 and 31 January 2012; and if she will estimate the likely savings to the public purse in each case.

Damian Green: The Home Office revoked two sets of regulations between 1 June 2011 and 31 January 2012. They are the Immigration (Procedure for Marriage) Regulations 2005 (S.I. 2005/15), and the Immigration (Procedure for Formation of Civil Partnerships) Regulations 2005 (S.I. 2005/2917).
	The revocation of these regulations did not result in any quantifiable savings to the public purse.

Youssef Boutros-Ghali

Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  whether (a) Ministers and (b) officials of her Department have had discussions with (i) the United States Department of State, (ii) the US Ambassador to the UK, (iii) other American officials, (iv) the Egyptian Foreign Ministry, (v) the Egyptian Ambassador of the Arab Republic of Egypt to the UK and (vi) other Egyptian officials concerning Youssef Boutros-Ghali;
	(2)  whether she has received representations from (a) the United States Department of State, (b) the Ambassador of the United States of America to the UK, (c) other American officials, (d) the Egyptian Foreign Ministry, (e) the Egyptian Ambassador to the UK and (f) other Egyptian officials concerning Youssef Boutros-Ghali.

Damian Green: holding answer 12 March 2012
	The Government do not comment on discussions or representations in relation to particular individuals.

ENERGY AND CLIMATE CHANGE

Aviation: Exhaust Emissions

Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what assessment he has made of the potential effects of the prohibition by the United States and China of their airlines taking part in the EU's emission trading scheme.

Gregory Barker: We are aware that a number of countries have raised their concerns and we are working with the Commission and other member states to find a resolution. In particular we are actively engaged in the recent work programme initiated in the International Civil Aviation Organization which is seeking to reach a global agreement to tackle aviation emissions.

Carbon Sequestration

Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change if he will reconsider the decision not to proceed with the carbon capture and storage project at Longannet; and if he will make a statement.

Charles Hendry: The Government announced on 19 October 2011 that a decision had been made not to proceed with the proposed CCS project at Longannet because it was not possible to conclude a deal within the £1 billion the Government have committed. There are no plans to reconsider that decision.
	The Government remains firmly committed to supporting the commercialisation of CCS and there are a number of promising projects proposed in the UK. We will launch a streamlined selection process for future CCS projects and a CCS Roadmap in the coming weeks.

Carbon Sequestration

Tom Greatrex: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many full-time equivalent staff in his Department are responsible for carbon capture and storage.

Charles Hendry: The current number of full time equivalent staff responsible for carbon capture and storage in the Department of Energy and Climate Change is 31.3.

Carbon Sequestration

Tom Greatrex: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change when he expects to publish his Department's carbon capture and storage baseline risk allocation.

Charles Hendry: A proposed risk allocation for the CCS project selection programme will be published when the programme is launched in the coming weeks.

Carbon Sequestration

Tom Greatrex: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change when he intends to publish the Government's carbon capture and storage roadmap.

Charles Hendry: The CCS Roadmap will be published in the coming weeks alongside the launch of a streamlined selection process for future CCS projects.

Carbon Sequestration

Tom Greatrex: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change when his Department plans to launch the carbon capture and storage competition request for proposals.

Charles Hendry: The Government remain firmly committed to supporting the commercialisation of CCS and there are a number of promising projects proposed in the UK. We will launch a streamlined selection process for future CCS projects and a CCS roadmap in the coming weeks.

Carbon Sequestration

Tom Greatrex: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what assessment he has made of 
	(1)  the number of commercially-viable carbon capture and storage plants that will be in operation in the UK by 2015;
	(2)  the level of installed capacity associated with carbon capture and storage that will be available in the UK by 2015.

Charles Hendry: Our intention is to launch in the coming weeks a new competition for CCS projects that will assist in achieving our goal of making CCS costs competitive with other forms of low-carbon generation by the 2020s.
	The Government have already committed £l billion in funding under the competition. Until we have launched the competition and evaluated bids it is not possible to give a view on the timelines for potential projects.

Carbon Sequestration: Scotland

Tom Greatrex: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what information his Department holds on whether the Scottish Government has committed to funding any carbon capture and storage projects in Scotland.

Charles Hendry: The Scottish Government have not contributed financially to the development of a commercial scale CCS project in Scotland. However, the Scottish Government have contributed to the funding of several offshore storage research projects to help inform CCS deployment in the future.

Carbon Sequestration: Scotland

Tom Greatrex: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change 
	(1)  when he last met a Minister of the Scottish Government to discuss carbon capture and storage;
	(2)  on how many occasions he has met Ministers of the Scottish Government to discuss carbon capture and storage.

Charles Hendry: Ministers meet their counterparts in the devolved Administrations regularly to discuss a range of energy and climate change issues. In addition, my officials hold regular detailed discussions with their counterparts on specific issues relating to the development of carbon capture and storage.

Climate Change

Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what assessment he has made of changes to global temperatures since 2000.

Gregory Barker: The global temperature record shows that the last decade (2001-10) was the warmest decade in the global surface temperature record (which began in 1850). 2005 and 2010 were the two equal warmest individual years. The Earth has warmed by about 0.8°C since around 1900. Both the geographical patterns and trend of recent warming can only be explained by taking account of human greenhouse gas emissions.
	Recently some individual years have not been quite as warm as 2005 and 2010. This is because the long-term warming trend is taking place on top of natural variations. Over periods of up to a decade, natural phenomena, such as Pacific EI Nino and La Nina events, cause year to year variations in the global average temperature that can temporarily mask longer term trends. We will always see such short-term fluctuations and to confirm climate changes we need to rely on long-term trends of longer than a decade.

Climate Change

Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what recent discussions he has had on his Department's policy on anthropogenic climate change.

Gregory Barker: All ministerial meetings with external organisations, including those involving discussions on the Department's policy on anthropogenic climate change, are published on a quarterly basis and can be found on the Department's website by clicking the following link:
	http://www.decc.gov.uk/en/content/cms/accesstoinform/registers/ministermtgs/ministermtgs.aspx

Electric Vehicles

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what assessment his Department has made of the potential role of plug-in vehicles to support the development of a UK smart grid.

Charles Hendry: DECC's Carbon Plan assessed that 20% to 50% of new cars and vans could be battery electric, range extended electric or plug-in hybrid in the UK by 2030. Since they can be charged at any time of the day, plug-in vehicles could help introduce flexibility to the electricity system, allowing electricity demand to be shifted to better match electricity supply and to make more efficient use of network infrastructure.
	DECC set up and co-chairs with Ofgem the Smart Grid Forum, a cross-industry group to help develop a smarter grid. A key output of this will be an evaluation framework to assess the costs and benefits of smart grid technologies, including the role played by technologies such as electric vehicles. The work is based on DECC Carbon Plan assumptions of the future take-up of electric vehicles and will inform the investment plans of distribution network companies. The framework will be published later this month.

Energy

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what proportion of households switched energy provider in each region of the UK in each of the last five years.

Charles Hendry: DECC publish data on the total number of customers switching from one supplier to another in the UK in its Quarterly Energy Prices reports. However, we do not hold data that shows customer switching in each region.
	In Q3 of 2011 (latest information available) the number of electricity customers switching was 396,000 and the number of gas customers switching was 318,000.

Energy: Prices

Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what estimate he has made of the number of firms leaving the UK citing high energy costs.

Gregory Barker: There is currently no evidence to suggest that high energy costs alone are causing businesses to relocate outside the UK. Furthermore, published research including Climate Strategies(1), the Oko Institute(2) and Cambridge Econometrics(3) suggests that the risk of UK industries moving to third countries as a result of increased costs of carbon in the EU, is limited to a small number of sectors.
	Nevertheless, the Government are keen to ensure that climate and energy policies do not lead to competitive distortions and the Chancellor of the Exchequer, my right hon. Friend the Member for Tatton (Mr Osborne), therefore announced in the autumn statement last year, that Government will implement a package of measures, to reduce the impact of energy and climate change policies on the costs of electricity, for those energy intensive industries whose international competitiveness is most affected by these policies. This week the Government launched a “Call For Evidence” to inform the development and targeting of such measures, available online at:
	http://www.bis.gov.uk/policies/business-sectors/low-carbon-business-opportunities/energy-intensive-industries
	(1 )Climate Strategies (UK) Reports (2007-2009) on: Tackling Leakage in a world of unequal carbon prices:
	http://www.climatestrategies.org/research/our-reports/category/32.html
	Hourcade et al (2007) Differentiation and Dynamics of EU ETS Industrial Competitiveness Impacts, Climate Strategies:
	http://www.climatestrategies.org/research/our-reports/category/6/37.html
	(2) Oko-Institut (Germany), Fraunhofer ISI, DIW (September 2008) Impacts of the EU Emissions Trading Scheme on the industrial competitiveness in Germany:
	http://www.umweltdaten.de/publikationen/fpdf-l/3625.pdf
	(3) DECC commissioned Cambridge Econometrics report 2010:
	http://www.decc.gov.uk/assets/decc/What%20we%20do/Global%20climate%20change%20and%20energy/Tackling%20Climate%20Change/Emissions%20Trading/eu_ets/news/471-carbon-leakage-ce-report.pdf

Green Deal Scheme

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change whether he has had discussions with the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on opportunities for long-term unemployed people to re-skill as part of the Green Deal.

Gregory Barker: The Department has been in close contact with the Department for Work and Pensions and the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills to ensure we maximise the economic benefits from the Green Deal.
	The Department recently announced £3.5 million to fund the training of up to 1,000 assessors and 1,000 solid wall insulation installers under the Green Deal, Officials are working closely with the relevant Sector Skills Councils to ensure as much of this money as possible can be directed at helping those currently unemployed.

Green Deal Scheme

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many formal expressions of interest his Department has received from people interested in becoming Green Deal assessors.

Gregory Barker: The Department has not sought any formal expressions of interest from people interested in becoming Green Deal assessors. Officials continue to discuss with a range of stakeholders the opportunities for Green Deal assessors and developments in this area.

Green Deal Scheme

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change if he will publish a copy of the guidelines and training materials which will be issued to (a) Green Deal assessors and (b) go-early Green Deal assessors.

Gregory Barker: The regulations, code of practice and standards will set out the expectations on all assessors operating under the Green Deal. These will be published in due course, following the analysis of consultation responses.
	Responsibility for the publication and issue of training materials rests with learning providers.

Green Deal Scheme

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what estimate his Department has made of the cost to the public purse of training a (a) Green Deal assessor and (b) go-early Green Deal assessor.

Gregory Barker: The qualification and training framework for Green Deal assessors will be finalised shortly. Training providers will then use this to determine the training requirement for Green Deal assessors.
	Although it is for the market to deliver training for Green Deal advisers, Government have demonstrated their commitment to helping the market gear up. We recently announced the provision of £3 million in funding to train Green Deal assessors and installers. £1 million of this will be invested in training up to 1,000 assessors in readiness for the Green Deal.

Green Deal Scheme

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what the average number of training hours (a) go-early Green Deal assessors and (b) Green Deal trainees will receive.

Gregory Barker: The qualification and training framework for Green Deal assessors will be finalised shortly, including a final set of expected learning hours. We expect people with relevant experience and existing skills to be recognised and given credit, requiring them to undertake fewer additional learning hours than those starting out from scratch.

Renewable Energy: Scotland

Tom Greatrex: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how much generation capacity from renewable sources from Scotland was installed in (a) 2010 and (b) 2011; and what the total value was of the renewables obligation certificate allocated to Scotland in each of those years, both as (i) an overall figure and (ii) a percentage of the total UK renewables obligation certificate allocation.

Charles Hendry: 544MW of new operational renewable electricity was installed in Scotland in 2010. Between January and September 2011, 220MW of new operational renewable electricity had been installed. Data for the full calendar year will be available in Energy Trends Q4, which will be published on 29 March 2012.
	The information requested on renewable obligation certificates (ROCs) for total renewable electricity generation in Scotland is given in the following table. The obligation period runs from April to March so the figures are given for 2009-10 and 2010-11.
	
		
			  2009-10 2010-11 
			 Estimate of value of ROCs allocated to Scotland (£) 404,575,823 454,273,056 
			 Numbers of ROCs issued x ROC value 7,726,811 x £52.36 8,848,326 x £51.34 
			 Percentage of the total UK ROCs allocated to generators in Scotland 36.4 35.6

ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Agriculture: Exports

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps her Department is taking to maintain (a) standards of animal welfare and (b) the competitiveness of the farming industry in the exports market.

James Paice: This Government are committed to improving the welfare of farmed animals. But this need not be to the disadvantage of our farming industry in terms of their competitiveness in relation to our trading partners. We want to see consistent enforcement of welfare legislation within the EU and the adoption of equivalent welfare standards in countries outside Europe. We will continue to work towards these twin goals to ensure the continued competitiveness of our exports of livestock and livestock products.
	On 27 January 2012, DEFRA, UK Trade and Investment (UKTI), together with industry representatives announced “Driving Export Growth in the Farming, Food and Drink Sector: a plan of action”. The Government and industry will work to open markets and remove trade barriers; help build a business mindset of exporting as a key route to growth; encourage more SMEs to explore overseas opportunities and support those already doing so; and shift the focus of the sector towards the opportunities of emerging economies where there is the greatest future growth potential.
	One of the actions DEFRA will undertake will be to develop a strategy in collaboration with industry to remove barriers to trade for British animal and animal products into key overseas markets. This will focus on identifying the key markets and then negotiating the appropriate import conditions and associated guarantee documentation such as export health certificates to access those markets.

Dogs: Tagging

Justin Tomlinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment her Department has made of the merits of introducing compulsory microchipping for dogs.

James Paice: The Government will make an announcement shortly on a package of proposals to tackle irresponsible ownership of dogs. In putting this package together, we have considered the benefits of compulsory microchipping of dogs.

Hydrofluorocarbons

Derek Twigg: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  what recent assessment she has made of the potential effects on the UK chemical industry of (a) specific use bans, (b) production caps and (c) consumption caps to regulate further the use of hydrofluorocarbons;
	(2)  what recent assessment she has made of the potential use of (a) specific use bans, (b) production caps and (c) consumption caps as methods to further regulate the use of hydrofluorocarbons; and if she will make a statement;
	(3)  what her Department's policy is on the extension of the Montreal Protocol and the phasing down of hydrofluorocarbons;
	(4)  what representations she has made to European institutions on the future regulation of hydrofluorocarbons; and if she will make a statement.

James Paice: The UK Government welcome action on hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) to combat rising emissions of these powerful greenhouse gases through both the Montreal protocol and the United Nations framework convention on climate change (UNFCCC). We support “in principle” an international phase-down of HFCs under the Montreal protocol as one of a number of potential measures because of the climate benefits that will be delivered. However, there are many technical issues to be discussed before any formal negotiations on a phase-down could take place.
	The Montreal protocol is considered to be the appropriate forum in which to take action to counter the growth of HFCs, due to the expertise of the Montreal parties in phasing out the production of ozone-depleting substances, the ability to set targets for developing as well as developed countries and the existence of a ready-made, and very effective, mechanism to support implementation of new obligations being taken on by developing countries.
	The UK Government have not undertaken any recent assessment of the use or impact of specific use bans, production caps or consumption caps. However, work is under way to ensure we have the appropriate evidence to give us a better understanding of important emerging trends, and what potential policy options there might be for future mitigation action on the use of HFCs. This includes examining the technical options under existing international proposals to phase down HFCs under the Montreal protocol to assess whether they could be realistic and achievable at a UK level.
	The UK Government have not to date made any specific representations to European institutions about the future regulation of HFCs.
	The European Commission has recently reviewed the EU regulatory regime that controls emissions of HFCs. Based on the findings of the review and a recent EU stakeholder consultation, the Commission is assessing the environmental, economic and social impacts of potential options for further EU action to regulate HFCs, both with and without global action under the Montreal protocol.

Livestock: Waste Disposal

David Mowat: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what guidance her Department has issued to regulate major excavation or reprofiling works where infected BSE carcasses are buried and where the exact location of the carcasses (a) is and (b) is not known.

James Paice: Some 6,117 BSE cattle were disposed of in landfill sites in Great Britain up to 1991 before incineration capacity was sufficient to deal with the number of cases. No BSE suspects have been disposed of to landfill since 1991.
	The disposal of waste to landfill was then generally subject to control under the waste disposal licensing system under Part I of the Control of Pollution Act 1974. The then waste regulation authorities, principally county councils, were responsible for the administration of the system and were required to maintain a public register which showed the general types of waste each landfill site was authorised to take and any limitations on the quantity. In many cases the carcases of BSE suspects were not specifically identified. No central record was kept of the type and quantities of waste each landfill site took.
	The then Spongiform Encephalopathy Advisory Committee considered the issue of BSE and the environment in May 1996, including the question of disposal to landfill sites. They concluded that it was unlikely that leachate from landfill sites would present significant risk and there was no justification for taking measures to excavate sites, including those which had previously been used for material such as BSE-confirmed cattle.
	The Environment Agencies became responsible for the safe regulation of landfill sites in April 1996 under Part II of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 and undertook qualitative assessments of all the sites concerned, taking account of the number of carcases estimated to be buried at each site based on various records, the degree of containment and the proximity to water sources. They also carried out more detailed quantitative assessments of a selection of sites which were judged to be typical of those sites that appeared most vulnerable. The results showed the potential risks to be very low, in line with previous advice given to the then Government by the Spongiform Encephalopathy Advisory Committee.

Meat: Exports

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assistance is given to exporters of (a) pig meat, (b) lamb and (c) beef to countries (i) within the EU and (ii) internationally; what recent discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Foreign Commonwealth Affairs on promoting such exports; and if she will make a statement.

James Paice: On 27 January 2012 the Government published ‘Driving Export Growth in the Farming, Food and Drink Sector’, a joint industry-Government plan of action. DEFRA, UKTI and FCO together with industry will work to open markets and remove trade barriers; help build a business mindset of exporting as a key route to growth; encourage more SMEs to explore overseas opportunities and support those already doing so; and shift the focus of the sector towards the opportunities of emerging economies where there is the greatest future growth potential.
	One of the actions DEFRA will undertake will be to develop a strategy in collaboration with industry to remove barriers to trade for British animal and animal products into key overseas markets. This will focus on identifying the key markets and then negotiating the appropriate import conditions and associated guarantee documentation such as export health certificates to access those markets.
	The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Meriden (Mrs Spelman), and her ministerial team regularly meet with the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), and other FCO Ministers in the course of Government business and exports are a regular topic of discussion.

Pet Animals Act 1951

Jane Ellison: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the operation of the Pet Animals Act 1951.

James Paice: I am satisfied that the Pet Animals Act 1951 provides local authorities with the necessary powers to investigate allegations of poor welfare in pet shops while at the same time is not over burdensome to small businesses.

CABINET OFFICE

Deaths

Patrick Mercer: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office 
	(1)  how many deaths were registered in England and Wales where the date of death was between 1 January 2005 and 31 December 2005 and the waiting time between the date of death and the date of registration of death was longer than (a) 91 days, (b) 183 days, (c) 365 days and (d) 730 days;
	(2)  how many deaths were registered in England and Wales where the date of death was between 1 January 2005 and 31 December 2005.

Nick Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	Letter from Stephen Penneck, dated March 2012
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Questions.
	Table 1 provides the number of deaths in England and Wales where the date of death was between 1 January 2005 and 31 December 2005 and the waiting time between the date of death and the date of death registration was greater than (a) 91 days, (b) 183 days, (c) 365 days and (d) 730 days.
	There were a total of 515,076 deaths registered in England and Wales where the date of death was between 1 January 2005 and 31 December 2005.
	Annual figures on the number of deaths registered by sex, age group and cause in England and Wales are available from the Office for National Statistics at:
	http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/publications/all-releases.html?definition=tcm%3A77-27475
	
		
			 Table 1. Number of deaths where death registration was delayed more than (a) 91 days, (b) 183 days, (c) 365 days and (d) 730 days, England and Wales, 2005 (1, 2) 
			 Waiting time Deaths 
			 Over 91 days 16,434 
			 Over 183 days 8,266 
			 Over 365 days 2,133 
			 Over 730 days 459 
			 (1) Figures are for deaths occurring in 2005 and include deaths of non-residents (2) The date of death is not available for 11 deaths. These have been excluded from this table. Source: Office for National Statistics

Departmental Contracts

Stephen Timms: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office 
	(1)  what the monetary value is of Government contracts awarded to (a) Prospects Services Limited and (b) associates of Prospects Services Limited (i) individually and (ii) in total since May 2010;
	(2)  what the monetary value is of Government contracts awarded to (a) Rehab Jobfit and (b) associates of Rehab Jobfit (i) individually and (ii) in total since May 2010;
	(3)  what the monetary value is of Government contracts awarded to (a) JHP Group Limited and (b) associates of JHP Group Limited (i) individually and (ii) in total since May 2010.

Francis Maude: holding answer 12 March 2012
	As part of my Department's transparency programme, details of contracts above the value of £10,000 are published on Contracts Finder
	http://www.contractsfinder.co.uk

Departmental Ethnic Minority Staff

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many and what proportion of senior civil servants in his Department were from an ethnic minority in March (a) 2010, (b) 2011 and (c) 2012; and if he will make a statement.

Francis Maude: Civil servants are not required to declare their ethnicity. Diversity statistics are, however, published on the Cabinet Office website and on data.gov.uk.

Food

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office 
	(1)  what proportion of food procured by No. 10 Downing street (a) meets the Government Buying Standards for Food and Catering and (b) is from British sources;
	(2)  what proportion of food procured by the Cabinet Office (a) meets the Government Buying Standards for Food and Catering and (b) is from British sources.

Francis Maude: I refer the hon. Member to the answers I gave on 1 December 2011, Official Report, column 1047W and 21 February 2012, Official  Report, column 595W.

Government Departments: Cost Effectiveness

Justin Tomlinson: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what steps his Department is taking to ensure that Government Departments manage their property efficiently to deliver value for money.

Francis Maude: My Department's spending controls on government property are reducing the cost and size of the civil estate. The controls encourage Departments to work more closely together in planning their future estate needs, promote co-location and provide focus on government's core buildings.
	Through these steps, the Government have exited over 800 holdings and already achieved a reduction in the central civil estate's annual running costs by around £210 million since May 2010.

Government Departments: Public Consultation

Mark Reckless: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many Government consultations were active during the last purdah period; and how many were launched within 14 days of the start of the last purdah period.

Francis Maude: This information is not held centrally.

Government Departments: Public Consultation

Mark Reckless: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what guidance is issued to departments on holding consultations during a purdah period.

Francis Maude: In line with practice of previous Administrations, the Cabinet Office issues guidance to civil servants on their activities during the pre-election period which is different depending on the type of elections taking place. Previous versions of election guidance for both general and local elections are available on the Cabinet Office website and in the Library, of the House.

Morning Star

Grahame Morris: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many copies of the Morning Star newspaper are regularly purchased for (a) 10 Downing street and (b) the Cabinet Office.

Francis Maude: None.

New Businesses: York

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many new business start-ups there were in the City of York in each of the last 10 years.

Nick Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	Letter from Stephen Penneck, dated March 2012
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking how many new business start-ups there were in the City of York in each of the last 10 years.
	Annual statistics on the number of enterprise births are available from 2002 onwards in the ONS release on Business Demography at
	www.statistics.gov.uk
	The following table contains the latest statistics available, which give the number of enterprise births for the constituency City of York from 2002-2009 and York Central 2010.
	
		
			 Count of enterprise births for the constituency of City of York 2002-09 and York Central 2010 
			 Constituency Year Count 
			 City of York 2002 345 
			 City of York 2003 410 
			 City of York 2004 420 
			 City of York 2005 435 
			 City of York 2006 345 
			 City of York 2007 390 
			 City of York 2008 415 
			 City of York 2009 310 
			 York Central(1) 2010 355 
			 (1) York Central is the new constituency which replaced the City of York and became operative on 6 May 2010.

NORTHERN IRELAND

Ministerial Travel

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland 
	(1)  how many overseas visits Ministers in his Department have undertaken in each year since 2010; and what the (a) destination and (b) purpose was of each such visit;
	(2)  what information his Department holds on the dates, matters discussed at and people met during visits undertaken by Ministers in his Department to each of the constituencies in Northern Ireland.

Owen Paterson: Details of ministerial overseas travel and meetings with external organisations and individuals are published on a quarterly basis. These can be found at:
	http://www.nio.gov.uk/index/nio-publication/stats-and-research-publications.htm

Regulation

Gordon Banks: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many regulations his Department has repealed between 1 June 2011 and 31 January 2012; and if he will estimate the likely savings to the public purse in each case.

Owen Paterson: My Department has responsibilities chiefly on constitutional, electoral and national security matters. Since devolution the Northern Ireland Office has had no need for new regulations and therefore it has not made or repealed any during this period.

Security

Ian Paisley Jnr: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland with reference to the St Andrew's Agreement of 2006, what assessment he has made of the application of national security arrangements to Northern Ireland; and if he will make a statement.

Owen Paterson: I am confident that the national security arrangements are operating in line with the principles set out in Annex E to the St Andrew's Agreement. As I informed the House on 19 December 2011, Official Report, column 145WS, and in my recent written ministerial statement on the Northern Ireland Security Situation on 27 February 2012, Official Report, column 16WS, my noble Friend Lord Carlile's recent report on the operation of arrangements for handling national security matters in Northern Ireland expressed satisfaction that there are no difficulties of any significance in the inter-operability between the PSNI and the Security Service. He concluded that their sound working partnership should be commended.

Security

Ian Paisley Jnr: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what justice and security matters that affect Northern Ireland remain under the control of the UK Government.

Owen Paterson: Responsibility for policing and criminal justice was devolved to the Northern Ireland Assembly in April 2010. National security remains an excepted matter under the Northern Ireland Act 1998. In addition a number of other specific matters are excepted or reserved, including drug classification, the Serious Organised Crime Agency, explosives security, extradition, and immigration.

ELECTORAL COMMISSION COMMITTEE

Departmental Consultants

Jake Berry: To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, how much the Electoral Commission spent on public affairs consultancy firms in the last 36 months; on which firms; and for what reason in each such case.

Gary Streeter: The Electoral Commission has spent a total of £128,730 on public affairs consultancy companies in the last 36 months. The Commission uses public affairs consultancy firms to undertake parliamentary monitoring and for subscriptions to trade publications. The Commission also used a public affairs consultancy firm to undertake a stakeholder perception audit in 2009.
	The Commission has not used public affairs consultancy firms for any other purpose during this time.
	The following table shows the amount the Commission spent with each public affairs consultancy firm in the last 36 months. The table also details the purpose of the spend.
	
		
			 Supplier Total (£) Purpose 
			 News Direct UK Ltd 15,294 Parliamentary monitoring 
			 Randall's Parliamentary Service Ltd 19,888 Parliamentary monitoring 
			 Grayling Communications Ltd 13,918 Parliamentary monitoring 
			 Stratagem (NI) Ltd 14,895 Parliamentary monitoring 
			 Dods Parliamentary Communications 28,856 Parliamentary monitoring and various publications 
			 Woodnewton Associates 35,879 Stakeholder perception audit

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

Broadband

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport if he will take steps to ensure there is effective competition in procurements for superfast broadband supported by his Department.

Edward Vaizey: I refer the right hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Newcastle upon Tyne Central (Chi Onwurah) on 7 February 2012, Official Report, column 162W.

Data Protection: Internet

Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what representations he has received on the potential regulation of the collection and use of user data by internet companies.

Edward Vaizey: The Government believe that users should have control over their data and it is important that there are proper consequences for those who abuse the personal data of others online. Existing regulations require companies to get consent from users to process their data.
	DCMS is working with Ministry of Justice (MOJ) to ensure that the proposed EU Data Protection Regulation is balanced, proportionate and delivers real benefits to users without imposing undue burdens on business. The MOJ call for evidence seeking views on the proposed regulation closed on 6 March. The Secretary of State has received no representations from internet companies on the potential regulation but such issues are raised by business stakeholders in the course of regular meetings with officials.

Libraries

Justin Tomlinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what assessment his Department has made of the socio-economic profile of the users of library services.

Edward Vaizey: This Department's Taking Part survey provides information on the socio-economic profile of people who have visited a public library in the last 12 months. The latest statistical release is available at:
	http://www.dcms.gov.uk/publications/8734.aspx
	Data from 2005-06 and a breakdown by socio-economic variables can be found at:
	http://www.dcms.gov.uk/images/research/TP_Y7_Q2_Figures_Libraries.xls

Libraries

Justin Tomlinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what support he has given local authorities to strategically plan the future of library services for local communities.

Edward Vaizey: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave him on 1 March 2012, Official Report, column 405W

Libraries

Justin Tomlinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport whether his Department has made an assessment of the adequacy of book stock levels in public libraries.

Edward Vaizey: Public library statistics are published by the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy, and reports that book stocks on 31 March 2011 stood at over 78 million volumes, or 1.5 books per person.

VisitEngland

Jake Berry: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport how much VisitEngland spent on public affairs consultancy firms in the last 36 months; to which firms such expenditure was made; and for what reason in each such case.

John Penrose: The Department does not collate this information. Accordingly, I have asked the chief executive of VisitEngland to write directly to my hon. Friend with this information.

HOUSE OF COMMONS COMMISSION

House of Commons: Catering

Robert Halfon: To ask the hon. Member for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross, representing the House of Commons Commission, what the House of Commons Commission's most recent estimate is of (a) the volume and (b) the monetary value of food and drink thrown away at each of the House's restaurants and cafeterias in the last year for which figures are available.

John Thurso: The estimated value of food and drink recorded as wastage in each of the restaurants and cafeterias operated by the House of Commons catering service over the past 11 months (April 2011 to February 2012) is set out in the following table. Monthly figures are not available for previous periods. Food wastage is recorded at selling price, but the cost price (based on the budgeted food cost percentage) has been estimated in order to answer this question.
	
		
			 £ 
			  Wastage at cost price 
			 Venue Food Drink Total 
			 Self- s ervice    
			 Terrace Cafeteria 15,326 — 15,326 
			 Members' Tea Room 1,100 3 1,103 
		
	
	
		
			 Moncrieffs 3,950 — 3,950 
			 Debate 13,059 — 13,059 
			 Bellamy's 4,871 — 4,871 
			 Portcullis Cafeteria 6,794 — 6,794 
			 6(th) Floor Cafe 68 — 68 
			 Jubilee Cafe 5,531 99 5,630 
			     
			 Table- s ervice    
			 Members' and Strangers' Dining Rooms 4,937 51 4,988 
			 Churchill Room — 66 66 
			 Terrace Pavilion 266 — 266 
			 Adjournment 540 — 630 
			 Total 56,442 309 56,751 
		
	
	No information is held on the amount of food and drink recorded as wastage.
	Food and drink wastage is inevitable in any cafeteria or restaurant business and food production planning is particularly difficult for the House of Commons catering service due to the daily uncertainty about the numbers of people attending the House, and the hour until which certain outlets must remain open. Despite these constraints, food and drink waste is below the industry norms for similar types of food businesses. This is achieved by making relatively little use of pre-made, packaged foods that have a limited shelf-life. Instead, food is where possible prepared in-house from fresh ingredients. Ingredients or prepared dishes left over at the end of the day are either transferred to another outlet for sale or conserved for future consumption, as long as it is safe to do so.

Trees

Anne Main: To ask the hon. Member for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross, representing the House of Commons Commission, what assessment he has made of the effect that the removal of the fig trees in Portcullis House would have on the acoustics of the building.

John Thurso: The removal of the trees would result in higher ambient noise levels.

Trees

Anne Main: To ask the hon. Member for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross, representing the House of Commons Commission, whether the House of Commons Commission has given consideration to the use of the space previously occupied by the fig trees in Portcullis House in the event that the trees are removed.

John Thurso: No. The Commission agreed on 27 February that the contract for the hire and upkeep of trees should be renegotiated at the earliest opportunity with the aim of reducing the cost significantly.
	Removal of the trees would lead to a noticeable increase in noise levels and reduced levels of shade (especially in summer, where the glass roof would probably lead to a requirement for additional cooling). The trees also improve air quality.

TREASURY

Child Tax Credit

Ann Coffey: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many families with (a) one child, (b) two children, (c) three children and (d) four children will lose their entitlement to the family entitlement of child tax credit in each constituency from April 2012.

David Gauke: This information is not available.
	The measure referred to in the question is the abolition of the second threshold for child tax credit and is part of a range of reforms to the tax credits system announced at the spending review. All of the tax credits measures interact with each other and isolating the impact of any of these measures would not be representative of the overall change in a family's tax credit award.
	The Government published estimates of the distributional impact of the packages of announced tax and benefit measures which can be found at:
	http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/d/junebudget_annexa.pdf
	http://cdn.hm-treasury.gov.uk/sr2010_annexb.pdf

Departmental Consultants

Jake Berry: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much the Financial Services Authority has spent on public affairs consultancy firms in the last 36 months; on which firms; and for what reason in each case.

Mark Hoban: This is a matter for the Financial Services Authority (FSA), whose day-to-day operations are independent from government control and influence. This question has been passed on to the FSA, which will reply to you directly by letter. A copy of the response will be placed in the Library of the House.

Departmental Senior Civil Servants

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many senior civil servants left his Department and its public bodies in each month since May 2010; what their names are; what the rate of turnover of senior civil servants in his Department was during this period; and if he will make a statement.

Chloe Smith: The following tables show the number of senior civil servants who have left since May 2010 to January 2012:
	
		
			  SCS leavers HM Treasury SCS leavers Asset Protection Agency (APA) 
			 June 2010 3 0 
			 July 2010 2 0 
			 August 2010 3 0 
			 September 2010 2 0 
			 October 2010 1 1 
			 December 2010 2 0 
			 January 2011 2 1 
			 February 2011 2 0 
			 March 2011 3 0 
			 April 2011 3 0 
			 May 2011 2 0 
		
	
	
		
			 June 2011 1 0 
			 July 2011 1 0 
			 August 2011 1 0 
			 September 2011 4 0 
			 October 2011 0 1 
			 December 2011 2 0 
			 Grand total 34 3 
		
	
	
		
			 SCS turnover table: May 2010 to January 2012 
			 Departments SCS Leavers Turnover as % of SCS only over 21 months Turnover as % all current staff over 21 months 
			 HM Treasury 34 30.0 2.6 
			 APA 3 49.8 7.0 
			 DMO 0 0.0 0.0 
			 OBR from 1 April 2011 0 0.0 0.0 
			 Note: To calculate turnover we have used the average staff number over the 21 month period (May 2010 to January 2012). 
		
	
	
		
			 HM Treasury SCS turnover table: May 2008 to January 2010 (for comparison against May 2010 to January 2012) 
			 Departments SCS Leavers Turnover as % of SCS only over 21 months Turnover as % all current staff over 21 months 
			 HM Treasury 37 32.5 2.9 
			 Note: To calculate turnover we have used the average staff number over the 21 month period (May 2008 to January 2010). 
		
	
	No names have been included as these personal data are protected by the Data Protection Act.

Income Tax

David Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what his most recent estimate is of the number of (a) underpayments and (b) overpayments of income tax in each year from 2003-04 to 2009-10 which are (i) outstanding and (ii) written off; and if he will make a statement.

David Gauke: The information is not available.
	Under and overpayments of income tax are normally processed by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) as soon as liability has been established.
	Most PAYE overpayments are identified on the reconciliation of a tax year and payable orders are issued shortly after the overpayment has been calculated.
	HMRC notifies customers when a PAYE underpayment is identified on the reconciliation of a tax year. Actions are then taken to collect that underpayment. The majority are collected through a customer's tax code for a later tax year, customers may also make a voluntary payment.
	Most underpayments are recovered through routine processes and do not become established and enforceable debts. However, where they do, HMRC collects almost all established tax debt and write offs are relatively low. I would refer the right hon. Gentleman to HMRC's published accounts which are available at:
	www.hmrc.gov.uk/about/annual-report-accounts-1011.pdf
	HMRC has done significant work to improve the operation of dealing with under and overpayments in PAYE through the introduction of the new national insurance and PAYE system (NPS). For further information, I would refer the right hon. Gentleman to the answer I gave the hon. Member for Dundee East (Stewart Hosie) on 8 November 2011, Official Report, column 184W.

Taxation: Loans

Steve Brine: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what information his Department holds on the number of employers that provide tax-free employment-related loans to employees;
	(2)  what assessment he has made of the level of uptake of employment-related loans by employees in the latest period for which figures are available;
	(3)  whether he has assessed the merits of raising the £5,000 tax-free threshold of employment-related loans provided to employees under section 180(1) of the Income Tax (Earnings and Pensions) Act 2003.

David Gauke: Employers are required to report annually to HMRC, details of taxable benefits and expenses payments provided to employees. Included in this report are details of taxable zero or low interest ‘beneficial’ loans.
	There are certain exceptions which apply to prevent an employment-related loan becoming a taxable and therefore reportable, beneficial loan. These include the situation where the combined outstanding value of all outstanding loans to an employee from the employment does not exceed £5,000 at any time in the tax year. Because of this, HMRC does not hold data on the number of employers who provide or the number of employees who receive ‘tax free’ loans below this £5,000 threshold.
	HMRC publishes data annually on taxable benefits and expenses. The June 2011 data for 2008-09 indicates around 130,000 individuals were in receipt of a taxable beneficial loan. This data is publicly available on the HMRC website in Table 4.5 (T4.5—taxable benefit in kind and expenses payments). The £5,000 threshold is intended to minimise the administration burden on employers of having to calculate the taxable value of the benefit of small loans made to employees. It can cover various types of loan, such as modest advances of salary or expenses as well as loans for the purchase of travel season tickets. Increasing the threshold would be likely to have a material Exchequer cost at a time when the Government have a clear commitment to reducing the budget deficit. The Government have no plans to raise the threshold.

Welfare Tax Credits: Warrington

Helen Jones: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many families in Warrington North constituency are in receipt of (a) working tax credit and (b) child tax credit.

David Gauke: holding answer 12 March 2012
	The number of families in Warrington North in receipt of working tax credit and child tax credit are as follows:
	
		
			 Warrington  N orth 
			  Number (t housand ) 
			 Out-of-work 1.9 
			 WTC and CTC 3.3 
		
	
	
		
			 In-work CTC only 3.3 
			 WTC Only 1.2 
			 All 9.7 
		
	
	This information is compiled using the December 2011 National Statistics dataset. The HMRC snapshot publication “Personal Tax Credits: Provisional Statistics—Geographical Statistics” contains data on the number of families in receipt of tax credits and the December 2011 publication can be found here:
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/personal-tax-credits/cwtc-geog-dec2011.pdf
	Table 4 has this information by Westminster parliamentary constituency.

Working Tax Credit: Warrington

Helen Jones: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people in Warrington North constituency who are in receipt of working tax credits are part of a couple working for less than 24 hours per week.

David Gauke: holding answer 12 March 2012
	I refer the hon. Member to my answer to the parliamentary question answered on 10 January 2012, Official Report, column 72W.
	That answer gave the number of couples with children and children benefiting from working tax credit and working between 16 and 24 hours as of December 2011. We have reproduced this in the following table, with the addition of the number of people who are part of a couple working for less than 24 hours per week.
	
		
			 Warrington North 
			  Number 
			 Number of households 275 
			 Number of people 550 
			 Number of children in those households 495

WORK AND PENSIONS

Access to Work Programme: Interpreters

Charlotte Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what his policy is on the payment of the travel expenses of interpreters under the access to work scheme.

Maria Miller: Travel expenses for access to work support workers, including interpreters, will be paid by the access to work scheme if they were included in the quoted hourly rate that was agreed by officials.

Carer's Allowance

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the number of people who have claimed carer's allowance in (a) England, (b) Cumbria and (c) Westmorland and Lonsdale constituency in each of the last five years.

Maria Miller: The information requested is given as follows.
	
		
			 Recipients of carer's allowance in England, Cumbria and Westmorland and Lonsdale parliamentary constituency: as at the dates shown 
			  England Cumbria Westmorland and Lonsdale 
			 May 2011 482,670 4,430 430 
			 May 2010 454,110 4,290 420 
			 May 2009 428,350 4,160 420 
			 May 2008 404,320 4,120 440 
			 May 2007 389,370 4,060 430 
			 Notes: 1. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10. 2. Figures show the number of people in receipt of an allowance, and excludes people with entitlement where the payment has been suspended, for example if they are in hospital. 3. Constituencies used for May 2010 and 2011 are for the Westminster Parliament of May 2010. Prior to this, the constituencies used are for May 2005. 4. These figures are published on NOMIS at: www.nomisweb.co.uk. Source: DWP Information, Governance and Security Directorate Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study 100 per cent data.

Children: Day Care

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the budget was for (a) childcare support and (b) other childcare-related payments under the New Deal for Lone Parents in each of the last three years.

Maria Miller: The total amount spent on all child care-related payments for the last three years of operation of the New Deal for Lone Parents (NDLP) programme is shown in the following table. It is not possible to separately identify costs for child care support from other child care-related payments.
	
		
			 Financial year NDLP child care related payments (£ million) 
			 2010-11 5.7 
			 2009-10 6.4 
			 2008-09 5.3

Departmental Ethnic Minority Staff

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many and what proportion of senior civil servants in his Department were from an ethnic minority in March (a) 2010, (b) 2011 and (c) 2012; and if he will make a statement.

Chris Grayling: The answer is in the table:
	
		
			 DWP SCS by ethnicity 
			  Number of SCS declared as ethnic minority Ethnic minority percentage of total SCS declaring ethnicity 
			 31 March 2010 (1)0-4 1.9 
			 31 March 2011 5 2.5 
			 31 January 2012(2) 6 3.7 
			 (1) It is civil service policy that where there are fewer than 5 people from any ethnic group identified in summaries, exact numbers will not be published. Instead, the summaries indicate that there are '0-4'. (2) 31 January 2012 is the latest published data.

Dilnot Report

David Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps his Department is taking to assess the implications of the Dilnot Report; and if he will make a statement.

Paul Burstow: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Department of Health.
	Following the publication of the report of the Commission on Funding of Care and Support, the Government announced they would consult with a range of people and organisations involved in care and support on their recommendations and social care reform more broadly. “Caring for our future: Shared ambitions for care and support engagement” ran between 15 September and 2 December 2011.
	The Government will publish their plans for social care reform in a care and support White Paper and progress report on funding in the spring.

Employment Schemes

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether a guide price or fee per placement was suggested during the tendering process for the mandatory work activity scheme; and if he will make a statement.

Chris Grayling: The mandatory work activity (MWA) Invitation to Tender specification and supporting information set out the contract value per contract package area (CPA) and the minimum number of places that providers would be expected to provide per year in each CPA. As set out in the specification, this was based on a maximum cost of £800 per customer start.

Employment Schemes

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what data his Department holds on the mandatory work activity scheme.

Chris Grayling: All published data concerning the mandatory work activity (MWA) scheme can be found on the Department's statistics web page at the following link:
	http://research.dwp.gov.uk/asd/asd1/pwp/mwa_feb12.pdf

Employment: Disability

Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps his Department is taking to reduce barriers to employment for disabled people including (a) transport, (b) the physical environment and (c) attitudes of employers.

Maria Miller: The Government spent over £105 million in 2010-11 on supporting disabled people in mainstream employment through its successful and popular Access to Work Programme. This programme helped in excess of 35,000 people in 2010-11. It includes help with transport—for example by funding the additional costs of work related travel that some disabled people face, such as taxi fares or the cost of a travel buddy to help an individual learn how to use public transport. Access to Work also helps to reduce barriers within the physical environment by working with employers to negotiate and fund reasonable changes to the work environment.
	On 7 March 2012 the Government published their response to the consultation on the recommendations made in Liz Sayce's independent review of specialist disability employment provision, including an acceptance of all her recommendations with respect to Access to Work and a commitment to work with disabled people on the further detail of this. We have also pledged an additional £15 million this spending review.
	The Department works closely with employers through the employer-led Disability Employer Engagement Steering Group and Employers' Forum on Disability. Both groups work to improve employers' knowledge and confidence in dealing with disability issues and develop practical tools for the recruitment and support of disabled workers. The Department supports these organisations and their aims wherever it can.
	Jobcentre Plus disability employment advisers also work with employers to help them explore job solutions such as the restructuring of a job's tasks/environment, or the provision/change of equipment.

Employment: Disability

Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if his Department will conduct a review into the likely effects of the Government's proposed welfare reforms on the employment of disabled people.

Maria Miller: The Department has undertaken a series of equality impact assessments for the Welfare Reform Bill, which have assessed the likely effect of the Government's proposals on disabled people. These are available on the Department's website. The Department will continue to fulfil its obligations under the public sector Equality Duty as we take forward our programme of reform.

Employment: Disability

Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many disabled people were enabled to enter and remain in paid employment as a result of payments from the Independent Living Fund in the last year for which figures are available.

Maria Miller: In accordance with data protection principles, the Independent Living Fund only holds the information necessary to administer awards to its users. This information does not include whether recipients of awards from the fund are in paid employment.

Employment: Disability

Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people were employed as care and support workers either directly or indirectly through agencies or as a result of payments through the Independent Living Fund in the latest period for which figures are available.

Maria Miller: The Department for Work and Pensions does not hold information on the numbers of people employed as care and support workers.
	In accordance with data protection principles, the Independent Living Fund holds only the information necessary to administer awards to its users. This information does not include details of the number of personal assistants employed by users with monies provided by the fund.

Employment: Disability

Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many disabled people were in employment for each of the last five years for which figures are available.

Maria Miller: The following table shows the number of working age people aged 16-64 in Great Britain, who are disabled within the Equality Act definition, and in employment in each of the last five years(1):
	
		
			  Number of disabled people in employment 
			 July 2006-June 2007 2,633,800 
			 July 2007-June 2008 2,714,400 
			 July 2008-June 2009 2,686,400 
			 July 2009-June 2010 2,874,300 
			 July 2010-June 2011 3,132,500 
			 (1) Figures on people who are considered disabled within the Equality Act definition, are the summed value of the rounded categories: “DDA Disabled only” and “DDA disabled and work-limited disabled”, as published on the NOMIS website. Source: Annual Population Surveys (APS) 2006-11 (years ending June)

Flexible Working

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the number of people from each socio-economic group with flexible working hours in the latest period for which figures are available.

Nick Hurd: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Cabinet Office.
	The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	Letter from Stephen Penneck, dated March 2012
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking what estimate has been made of the number of people from each socio-economic group with flexible working hours in the latest period for which figures are available.
	The table provides the information requested for October to December 2011. The National Statistics Socio-Economic Classification is an occupationally based classification.
	The estimates are derived from the Labour Force Survey (LFS) and are not seasonally adjusted. As with any sample survey, estimates from the LFS are subject to a margin of uncertainty.
	
		
			 People with flexible working hours by National Statistics Socio-economic Classification, October-December 2011. Not seasonally adjusted 
			 Thousand and percentage 
			  Level Rate (1) 
			 Higher managerial and professional **528 15 
			 Lower managerial and professional *842 13 
			 Intermediate occupations **607 15 
			 Small employers and own account workers **162 6 
		
	
	
		
			 Lower supervisory and technical ***67 6 
			 Semi-routine occupations **164 5 
			 Routine occupations ***88 3 
			 (1) Proportion working flexible hours within each socio-economic group. Coefficients of Variation have been calculated for the latest period as an indication of the quality of the estimates, as described below: Guide to Quality: The Coefficient of Variation (CV) indicates the quality of an estimate, the smaller the CV value the higher the quality. The true value is likely to lie within +/- twice the CV—for example, for an estimate of 200 with a CV of 5% we would expect the population total to be within the range 180-220. Key: * 0 = CV<5%—Statistical Robustness: Estimates are considered precise ** 5 = CV <10%—Statistical Robustness: Estimates are considered reasonably precise *** 10 = CV <20%—Statistical Robustness: Estimates are considered acceptable **** CV ? 20%—Statistical Robustness: Estimates are considered too unreliable for practical purposes CV = Coefficient of Variation Source: ONS Labour Force Survey (LFS)

Housing Benefit

Alison McGovern: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the financial impact of the housing benefit cap on homeless households in temporary accommodation.

Steve Webb: Less than 2% of local housing allowance rates are affected by the caps. It is possible that a number of tenants will need to find alternative accommodation, but there is no reason why anyone should be left without somewhere to live.
	Although the caps came in to effect in April 2011, existing claimants were given nine months transitional protection. It is too soon to know how landlords will react to the caps.
	The Department has commissioned an independent consortium of leading research organisations to evaluate the effects of recent local housing allowance changes. The evaluation team is led by Ian Cole of Sheffield Hallam university, includes Peter Kemp (Oxford university) and members from the Institute for Fiscal Studies and Ipsos Mori. Their wide remit includes providing information on homelessness. Early findings are due to be published in May 2012.

Jobseeker's Allowance

Rebecca Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the effect on the number of people claiming jobseeker's allowance of employment and support allowance claimants moving to jobseeker's allowance.

Chris Grayling: It is not currently possible to provide information on the number of people moving from employment support allowance to jobseeker's allowance and to do so would incur disproportionate cost.
	However, the Department has recently published a survey on the "Destinations of Jobseeker's Allowance, Income Support and Employment and Support Allowance leavers 2011" that can be accessed from the following link. It shows that 41% of the ESA leavers included in the survey went on to claim another out of work benefit, which would include those going on to claim jobseeker's allowance:
	http://research.dwp.gov.uk/asd/asd5/rports2011-2012/rrep791.pdf

Maternity Pay

Elizabeth Truss: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the value was of the highest single payment of statutory maternity pay to date.

Maria Miller: The information requested is not collected.

Maternity Pay

Elizabeth Truss: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the average total statutory maternity pay was per claimant in the latest year for which figures are available.

Maria Miller: It is estimated that the average female who began a claim for statutory maternity pay in 2009-10 received the benefit for 33 weeks. The first six weeks of her claim will have been paid at 90% of her average weekly earnings. It is estimated that this payment would have been around £370 per week. The final 27 weeks will have been paid at the standard rate of £123.06 per week. Therefore, in total the average payment is estimated to be approximately £5,500 in 2009-10.
	Source
	1% sample of employer P14 returns for 2009-10.
	Additional information
	Figures are consistent with the latest (autumn 2011) expenditure forecasts at:
	http://research.dwp.gov.uk/asd/asd4/autumn_2011.xls

Maternity Pay

Elizabeth Truss: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what number and proportion of people in receipt of statutory maternity pay were earning in excess of £40,000 in the latest year for which figures are available.

Maria Miller: The information requested is not collected.

Universal Credit

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will publish the Programme Assurance Review of the universal credit programme that took place in November 2011.

Chris Grayling: The report setting out the findings of the Major Project Authority's Project Assurance Review is confidential to the senior responsible owner, and is framed to ensure that he gets candid and direct advice. Publication of these reports might impact on the directness and candour of the advice in future reports, and for this reason the report will not be published.

Winter Fuel Payments

Tom Greatrex: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people in (a) Rutherglen and Hamilton West constituency and (b) South Lanarkshire received a winter fuel payment in (i) 2008, (ii) 2009, (iii) 2010 and (iv) 2011.

Steve Webb: The information requested is as follows.
	
		
			 Number of people in receipt of winter fuel payment in the Rutherglen and Hamilton West constituency and South Lanarkshire local authority 
			  Rutherglen and Hamilton West South Lanarkshire 
			 Winter 2007-08 18,590 62,430 
			 Winter 2008-09 18,980 63,820 
			 Winter 2009-10 19,390 65,280 
			 Winter 2010-11 19,520 65,660 
			 Notes: 1. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10. 2. Parliamentary constituencies are assigned by matching postcodes against the relevant ONS postcode directory. 3. The latest figures for winter fuel payments are published at: http://statistics.dwp.gov.uk/asd/index.php?page=wfp Source: DWP Information Directorate

Work Capability Assessment

Sandra Osborne: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what percentage of appeals were successful by people contesting the withdrawal of employment and support allowance following a work capability assessment in the latest period for which figures are available.

Chris Grayling: The Department regularly publishes official statistics on employment and support allowance (ESA) and the work capability assessment (WCA). The latest report was published in January 2012 and can be found on the internet at the following link:
	http://research.dwp.gov.uk/asd/workingage/index.php?page=esa_wca
	Table 3 of the publication shows outcomes of appeals heard on Fit for Work decisions in initial functional assessment on a yearly, quarterly and monthly basis.

HEALTH

Dental Services

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the number of patients who have received dental treatment on the NHS in (a) England, (b) Cumbria and (c) Westmorland and Lonsdale constituency in each of the last five years.

Simon Burns: The information is not available in the format requested.
	The number of patients receiving NHS dental services (‘patients seen’) in England and Cumbria Teaching Primary Care Trust (PCT) over a 24 month period are displayed in the following tables.
	
		
			 Table 1: Patients seen by an NHS dentist in England in the previous 24 months (including orthodontic patients) 
			 24 month end date  31 December each year Patients seen 
			 2007 27,263,754 
			 2008 27,272,083 
			 2009 28,162,628 
			 3 2010 28,917,934 
			 2011 29,452,413 
		
	
	
		
			 Table 2: Patients seen by an NHS dentist who holds a contract with Cumbria Teaching PCT in the previous 24 months (including orthodontic patients) 
			 24 month end date  31 December each year Patients seen 
			 2007 271,696 
			 2008 270,218 
			 2009 264,573 
			 2010 259,214 
			 2011 268,559 
		
	
	The number of patients seen by an NHS dentist in the previous 24 months, in England, is available in Annex 2 and Annex 4 of the “NHS Dental Statistics for England—2011-12, Second quarterly report” by PCT. Information at constituency level is not available.
	Note that the patients seen measure shows the number of patients who received NHS dental care in the previous 24 months. An equivalent measure covering the 12 month period is not available.
	This report published on 16 February 2012 has been placed in the Library, and is also available on the NHS Information Centre website at:
	www.ic.nhs.uk/pubs/dentalstats1112q2

Diabetes

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many clinical commissioning groups have chosen to specialise in diabetes; and how many such groups his Department estimates will choose to specialise in diabetes.

Paul Burstow: Subject to the Health and Social Care Bill, clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) will be responsible for commissioning all appropriate services to meet patients' needs (except for those primary care and specialised services directly commissioned by the NHS Commissioning Board), including services for diabetes. CCGs will not specialise as such in particular conditions, but will need to draw on the full range of appropriate expert advice in commissioning all services.

Diabetes

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proportion of patients with diabetes who were offered foot-care checks did not take them up in the latest period for which figures are available.

Paul Burstow: This information is not held centrally.
	The completion rates for foot-care checks as a proportion of total patients in the National Diabetes Audit are available on page 11 of the National Diabetes Audit Executive Summary 2009-10 at:
	www.ic.nhs.uk/webfiles/Services/NCASP/Diabetes/200910%20annual%20report%20documents/National_Diabetes_Audit_Executive_Summary_2009_2010.pdf
	The National Diabetes Audit 2009-10 showed that, in England, 82.33% of people with diabetes had a foot examination. This shows a significant improvement compared to the 2004 -05 audit when 53.49% received a foot examination.
	The National Exception rates for Diabetic Foot indicators DM09 and DM10 according to Quality Outcomes Framework data were between 5.8% and 5.9% respectively, nationally.

Diabetes: Leicester

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proportion of diabetes patients in Leicester City Primary Care Trust did not have a foot check in 2011. [Official Report, 21 March 2012, Vol. 542, c. 1MC.]

Paul Burstow: There are two sources of data for assessing the extent to which foot checks are provided: the National Diabetes Audit and the Quality and Outcomes Framework (QOF) achievement data.
	The National Diabetes Audit shows that, from data received by 92.3% of practices, 18.3% of diabetics registered in Leicester City Primary Care Trust (PCT) did not have a foot check.
	The QOF indicators for diabetic foot care in 2009-10 were as follows:
	DM09: The percentage of patients with diabetes with a record of the presence or absence of peripheral pulses in the previous 15 months; and
	DM10: The percentage of patients with diabetes with a record of neuropathy testing in the previous 15 months.
	According to Leicester City PCT's QOF data for 2009-10, for DM09 the average underlying achievement for practices in the PCT was 89.5% and for DM10 89%. Underlying achievement means the percentage of eligible patients (excluding those who were excepted from the indicator) who received the checks. This indicates that for DM09, 10.5% and for DM10, 10.6% of patients (excluding those who were exception reported) did not receive the checks. The exception rate in Leicester City was reported as 5.5% for DM09 and 5.5% for DM10.
	The differences in results between the audit and QOF may be ascribable to variations in scope and data assessment methodology. We are working with stakeholders to understand the reasons for the differences and to identify what needs to be done as a result.

Diseases

Mark Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he plans to announce the launch of his proposed public consultation into the UK Rare Diseases Plan.

Simon Burns: The consultation on the UK Plan for Rare Diseases was launched on 29 February 2012 Rare Disease Day. The consultation will run for 12 weeks and closes on 25 May 2012.
	It is available on the Department's website at:
	www.dh.gov.uk/health/2012/02/consultation-rare-diseases/

First Aid: Curriculum

Justin Tomlinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Education on the potential public health benefits that would result from introducing emergency life support skills as part of the national curriculum; and if he will make a statement.

Anne Milton: We have not had any discussions about the potential health benefits that would result from the introduction of emergency life support skills as part of the national curriculum. Personal, Social and Health Education (PSHE), the subject through which emergency life support skills is usually taught, is currently under review. The Department for Education hope to be in a position to consult on the future of PSHE later this year.
	I have had a number of discussions about content of PHSE, both formally and informally, with the Department for Education.

Food: Labelling

Mark Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the effects of food labelling on the adoption of a healthy diet.

Anne Milton: The Government keep international evidence on the impact of nutritional labelling under review. Evidence from research demonstrates that consumers value nutrition labelling and can use it to make healthier food choices, but that regular use of it is limited. The evidence also indicates that use of nutrition information increases when it is put on front of pack in a consistent manner. The Department will shortly consult partners on ways of bringing more consistency to the provision of the front of pack labelling in the United Kingdom.

Heart Diseases

Justin Tomlinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he is taking to improve out-of-hospital cardiac arrest survival rates.

Simon Burns: It is for local national health service bodies to commission the provision of community resuscitation.
	The National Defibrillator Programme and the Heartstart scheme are two initiatives aimed at improving out-of-hospital cardiac arrest survival rates.
	The National Defibrillator Programme, which is the responsibility of ambulance trusts and is co-ordinated by the British Heart Foundation (BHF), installs automatic external defibrillators where they are most needed.
	Through the Heartstart scheme, the St John Ambulance, the Red Cross and the BHF provide free emergency life support training in the community and schools. Most ambulance trusts also provide training in cardio pulmonary resuscitation.
	Ambulance trusts now report on clinical outcomes of patients who suffer an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest. The number of patients who have a return of spontaneous circulation at the point of arrival at hospital and the number of patients who survive to discharge are recorded and published on the Department's website and on ambulance trust websites.

Herbal Medicine: EU Law

Mike Weatherley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what (a) meetings and (b) correspondence officials of (i) his Department and (ii) the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency have had with (A) the Safer Herbal Medicines Campaign and (B) Schwabe Pharma; and if he will place in the Library reports of all such meetings and correspondence;
	(2)  if he will pay compensation to small and medium-sized specialist manufacturers which cease to trade as a result of the implementation of the traditional herbal medicinal products directive;
	(3)  what estimate he has made of the number of small and medium-sized specialist manufacturers of herbal and botanical remedies who are likely to cease to trade as a result of the implementation of the traditional herbal medicinal products directive;
	(4)  what assessment he has made of the effect of the enforcement of the traditional herbal medicinal products directive on small and medium-sized specialist manufacturers of herbal remedies.

Simon Burns: Neither Ministers nor the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) have held a meeting with the Safer Herbal Medicines Campaign. The MHRA has held a number of meetings with Schwabe Pharma and there has been correspondence with that company since the traditional herbal medicinal products directive (THMPD) was introduced, but the meetings and correspondence relate to the company's specific products. Details of the meeting and correspondence are commercially confidential. The MHRA has periodic meetings with representative bodies, including trade associations, from the herbal sector and such organisations will sometimes be represented by individuals from specific companies. Schwabe Pharma have submitted a number of complaints to the MHRA about companies and products they believe to be in breach of medicines legislation, but companies that are investigated by the MHRA are entitled to their privacy especially where, following investigation, no subsequent enforcement action is taken against them. The MHRA considers that it would not be in the public interest to publish the correspondence as this would reveal the names of companies who have not breached medicines legislation or who have complied with regulatory requirements without the need for formal regulatory action; such an approach could also have legal implications.
	In its impact assessment on the THMPD, the MHRA recognised that some businesses, including small and medium-sized manufacturers, were likely to be significantly affected, and that the impact would vary widely depending on the standards to which the businesses were currently operating. The assessment also suggested that some restructuring in the herbal sector was likely. This view has not changed. The Better Regulation Executive review of MHRA implementation of Hampton principles reported in 2009 that the agency had given extensive help to industry in preparing to meet the requirements of the directive. MHRA will continue to provide such support, which includes the opportunity for companies to have dialogue with the agency as to how they can most effectively progress their intended applications under the traditional herbal registration scheme. Companies had a seven-year transitional period ending on 30 April 2011 to adapt to the full implementation of the THMPD and there is no provision for compensation in the implementing regulations.
	Companies were not required to notify the MHRA of unlicensed products marketed under section 12(2) of the Medicines Act 1968, therefore no estimates are available of how many products will be withdrawn from the United Kingdom market now that the THMPD is fully in force. As now there will continue to be many herbal products that potentially can be placed on the market either as medicinal products or under other product regulatory regimes depending on their presentation. The MHRA is presently investigating complaints about 21 companies selling some 148 herbal products which may fall within the definition of a medicine. The MHRA is currently considering how effective, proportionate enforcement action can best ensure that the intended benefits of the directive on traditional herbal medicinal products for consumers and for companies compliant with the legislation are achieved.

Hospices: Finance

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much funding his Department allocated to hospices in (a) 2010-11 and (b) 2011-12; and if he will make a statement.

Paul Burstow: I refer the hon. Member to the written answer I gave my hon. Friend the Member for Great Yarmouth (Brandon Lewis), on 20 February 2012, Official Report, column 689W.

Hospices: Finance

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which hospices received funding from his Department in (a) 2010-11 and (b) 2011-12; and if he will make a statement.

Paul Burstow: Hospices that received funding from the Department's capital budget for hospices in 2010-11 are listed at Annex C of the “End of Life Care Strategy Third Annual Report”, which was published in September 2011. A copy of the report has already been placed in the Library and is available on the Department's website at:
	www.dh.gov.uk/prod_consum_dh/groups/dh_digitalassets/documents/digitalasset/dh_130570.pdf
	Children hospices received a one-off grant of £20 million for time-limited service projects during 2010-11. Details of the hospices and projects can be found at:
	www.dh.gov.uk/en/Publicationsandstatistics/Publications/PublicationsPolicyAndGuidance/DH_124044
	The 40 children’s hospices in the following list also received funding from the Department's current annual Children’s hospice and hospice-at-home grant in the years 2010-11 and 2011-12.
	Acorns—Selly Oak
	Acorns—Walsall
	Acorns—Worcester
	Bluebell Wood Children's Hospice
	Brian House Children's Hospice
	Butterwick House
	CHASE (Children's Hospice Association South East)
	Chestnut Tree House
	Children's Hospice South West—Charlton Farm
	Children's Hospice South West—Little Bridge House
	Claire House Children's Hospice
	Demelza Community—East Sussex
	Demelza House—Sittingbourne
	Derian House Children's Hospice
	Donna Louise Children's Hospice Trust
	East Anglia's Children's Hospices—Ipswich
	East Anglia's Children's Hospices—Milton
	East Anglia's Children's Hospices—Quidenham
	Eden House Children's Hospice
	chYps/EllenorLions—Shining Lights
	Francis House
	Haven House Children's Hospice
	Helen and Douglas House
	Hope House Children's Hospice
	Iain Rennie Grove House Hospice Care
	James Hopkins Trust
	Jessie May Trust
	Julia's House
	Keech Hospice Care
	Little Havens
	Martin House
	Naomi House Children's Hospice (Wessex)
	Rainbow's Hospice for Children and Young People
	Richard House Children's Hospice
	Shooting Star
	St Andrew's Children's Hospice
	St Oswalds Children's Services
	The Children's Trust, Tadworth
	Zoe's Place Baby Hospice—Liverpool
	Zoe's Place Baby Hospice—Middlesbrough

Hospitals: Older People

David Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department is taking to ensure that all elderly people are treated with respect and dignity in hospitals; and if he will make a statement.

Paul Burstow: The Government are determined to root out poor quality care in the national health service. We are taking action on a number of fronts, including measures in the 2012-13 Operating framework, where quality of care—particularly for older people—is established as one of the four key priorities for the service, giving it equal billing with Operational Performance, the Quality, Innovation, Productivity and Prevention programme and Reform.
	The Care Quality Commission will be building on the 100 Dignity and Nutrition inspections it undertook in 2011 on behalf of the Department by undertaking a further 700 inspections this year. To improve on these inspections, the Prime Minister recently announced a new patient-led inspection regime, looking at nutrition, privacy, cleanliness and dignity.
	In addition, there are also a number of National Institute of Health and Clinical Excellence quality standards that are either in place or are being developed for a range of conditions and pathways affecting older people, including incontinence, nutrition support in adults, patient experience in adult NHS services, delirium, dementia, osteoarthritis and falls in a care setting.
	There is also renewed funding for National Audits relevant to older people's care.
	There are a number of indicators in the NHS Outcomes Framework to support better care for older people around dementia care, hospital acquired infections, emergency readmission rates, improving recovery from fragility fractures and helping older people to recover their independence after illness or injury.
	We have established the National Nursing and Care Quality Forum to work with patients, carers and professionals to spread best practice to increase the quality of services to older people.

Mental Health Services: Hampshire

Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 27 February 2012, Official Report, column 128W, on mental health services: Hampshire, if he will ask the Chairman of Southern Health NHS Foundation Trust for what reason the information on acute mental health beds has not been provided to the hon. Member for New Forest East; what assessment he has made of the degree of complicity in compiling the number of such beds available within the trust's directorate on any given day; and if he will make a statement.

Simon Burns: We understand the Southern Health NHS Foundation Trust wrote to the hon. Member on 9 March 2012 addressing the points raised. A copy of the Trust's letter has already been placed in the Library.

Mental Health Services: Homelessness

Robert Buckland: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department is taking to improve mental health outcomes for homeless people.

Paul Burstow: People who are homeless have much higher rates of mental health problems than the general population and are less likely to be registered with a general practitioner and access health and other services. The Government's Mental Health Strategy “No Health without Mental Health” describes how improving access to and take up of effective, integrated services can promote a range of positive outcomes for homeless people with mental health problems. Later this year, we intend to publish an implementation framework for the Mental Health Strategy.
	Within a broad strategy to tackle health inequalities across the country, the Department is looking to address the needs of those who are most vulnerable to poor health outcomes through the Inclusion Health programme. The early stage of this programme includes a focus on the homeless. Inclusion Health seeks to drive improvements, mainly through system reform and clinical leadership, to ensure everyone gets the care they need, regardless of their needs or circumstances.
	The Department is also a member of the Ministerial Working Group on Preventing and Tackling Homelessness (MWG). The MWG will release its second report this summer on preventing homelessness, particularly focusing on early intervention.

Neurology: Health Services

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the National Service Framework for Neurology; and if he will make a statement.

Paul Burstow: We have made no assessment of the effectiveness of the National Framework for Long-term neurological conditions. Responsibility for implementing the Framework lies with local health bodies.
	Key developments aimed at improving services for those with long-term conditions, including neurological conditions, are the Quality, Innovation Productivity and Prevention (QIPP) programme and the NHS Outcomes Framework.
	QIPP is a large scale transformational programme for the national health service, involving all NHS staff, patients and the voluntary sector and will improve the quality of care the NHS. Local commissioners are currently configuring their work to drive the necessary changes and ensure that providers work together to respond to the challenge.
	The NHS Outcomes Framework will provide the framework for defining how the NHS will be accountable for outcomes. It encompasses five domains articulating the responsibilities of the NHS.
	Responsibility for ensuring that locally commissioned neurological services meet the needs of patients lies with primary care trusts. However, we recognise that there are still unacceptable local variations in the provision of neurological services, as highlighted by the recent National Audit Office report. We will be responding to the recommendations arising from the report, and subsequent Public Accounts Committee hearing in due course.

NHS: ICT

John Pugh: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what effect payments made to Computer Sciences Corporation for contracts under the Connecting for Health Programme in the next three financial years will have on the declared savings made through the accelerated dismantling of the National Programme for IT;
	(2)  what the value is of payments to Computer Sciences Corporation through contracts under the Connecting for Health Programme in (a) 2011-12, (b) 2012-13 and (c) 2013-14.

Simon Burns: The Department could not comment on. the effects payments to Computer Sciences Corporation (CSC) could have, over the next three financial years, on the declared savings made through the dismantling of the National Programme for IT, as payments are made once a product or service has been delivered.
	The CSC Contract Renegotiations are yet to complete, therefore the Department is not in the position to confirm monetary value for the contracts under National Health Service Connecting For Health in 2011-12, 2012-13 or 2013-14.

NHS: Reorganisation

Derek Twigg: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many NHS authorities and trusts there were on 1 April 2011; and how many are proposed subject to the passage of legislation.

Simon Burns: On 1 April 2011, there were 10 strategic health authorities, 152 primary care trusts, 120 national health service trusts and 137 foundation trusts. There were also 18 other national arm’s length bodies.
	Subject to the passage of the Health and Social Care Bill, we have proposed that there will be a single NHS Commissioning Board. There will also be a number of clinical commissioning groups, though the final number will depend on local circumstances, and the decisions made by the NHS Commissioning Board about the size clinical commissioning groups are required to be to commission effectively. We are not pre-empting that decision by announcing a pre-determined number of expected clinical commissioning groups.
	The Government are also committed to all NHS trusts becoming foundation trusts. We expect the vast majority of NHS trusts to become foundation trusts by 2014.
	The Department will also reduce the number of its other arm’s length bodies to 14.

NHS: Standards

Nicholas Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people waited longer than 18 weeks for a consultation in secondary services in (a) January 2010 and (b) January 2012.

Simon Burns: The Department's Referral to Treatment waiting times data for January 2012 are not published until 15 March 2012.
	21,311 patients who started non-admitted treatment during December 2011 had waited more than 18 weeks from referral.
	17,221 patients who started non-admitted treatment during December 2009 had waited more than 18 weeks from referral.
	First and foremost, it should be clinical priority that determines when a patient is treated, but no-one should experience undue delay at any stage of their treatment.

Ovarian Cancer

Mark Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent assessment he has made of the level of (a) awareness and (b) detection of ovarian cancer symptoms.

Paul Burstow: We know from the national baseline survey report, “Public awareness of cancer in Britain-Report for the National Awareness and Early Diagnosis Initiative”, published in 2009, that public awareness, of signs and. symptoms of cancer is low. We also know that certain cancers, such as ovarian and pancreatic, present particular problems in terms of symptom awareness and detection. This is because the symptoms associated with these cancers, especially in the early stages of disease, are shared by other less serious conditions, such as irritable bowel syndrome.
	To support earlier diagnosis of cancer we are providing more than £450 million over the spending review period. This money is funding a range of activity, including awareness campaigns and increasing general practitioner access to diagnostic tests such as non-obstetric ultrasound to support the diagnosis of ovarian cancer.
	More recently, the International Cancer Benchmarking Partnership (ICBP) has conducted a survey of public awareness and beliefs within England and other countries in the partnership. The ICBP is an international collaboration seeking to understand how and why cancer survival varies between countries and jurisdictions, focusing on four tumour types, including ovarian. Included in the survey were questions on awareness and recognition of key cancer symptoms, many of which were relevant to ovarian cancer. The results will be published shortly.

Patients: Transport

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will estimate how many patients in each primary care trust area have received funding from the Healthcare Travel Costs Scheme in each of the last five years.

Simon Burns: The Department does not collect information on the number of patients who have accessed funding through the Healthcare Travel Costs Scheme.

Prescription Drugs

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many representations he has received from (a) members of the public, (b) hon. Members, (c) pharmacists, (d) doctors, (e) nurses and (f) hospitals on prescription drug shortages in the latest period for which figures are available.

Simon Burns: In the six month period 1 September 2011 to 29 February 2012, a number of written representations were identified as being received by the Department in relation to medicines shortages. There were 23 written representations from the public, identified by the Department's ministerial correspondence database. There were 65 written representations from hon. Members, identified by both the Department's ministerial correspondence and parliamentary questions databases. There were 11 written representations from pharmacists, identified by the Department's ministerial correspondence database. There were no written representations identified from either doctors or nurses, by the Department's ministerial correspondence database. Finally, there were 49 written representations from hospitals, identified by the Department's commercial medicines unit, which engages with the national health service when problems are encountered obtaining medicines for hospitals.
	These figures are approximate, representing minimum figures received by the Department. Where a correspondent has not specified a profession, this correspondence has been included in written representations from the public. Where a hon. Member has written on behalf of somebody else, regardless of profession, this has been included in representations from hon. Members.

Prescription Drugs

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the cost to the NHS of prescription drug shortages.

Simon Burns: The Department has made no assessment of the cost to the national health service of prescription drug shortages.

Prescription Drugs

Oliver Colvile: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what discussions his Department has had with drug manufacturers and wholesalers to ensure that there will be sufficient supply of prescription drugs during the London 2012 Olympic Games.

Simon Burns: Departmental officials have sought assurance from trade associations representing the supply chain that continuity of supply of prescription medicines will be maintained throughout the period of the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic games.

Regulation

Gordon Banks: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many regulations his Department repealed between 1 June 2011 and 31 January 2012; and if he will estimate the likely savings to the public purse in each case.

Simon Burns: The Department revoked 19 regulations between 1 June 2011 and 31 January 2012. These are set out in a table that has been placed in the Library.
	Information on the likely savings to the public purse resulting from revoked regulations is not held centrally. This could be provided only at disproportionate cost to the Department.
	Impact assessments in respect of the following revoked regulations have been published:
	Health Service Branded Medicines (Control of Prices and Supply of Information)
	Amendment Regulations 2011:
	www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2011/2955/contents/made
	National Health Service (Charges to Overseas Visitors) Regulations 2011:
	www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2011/1556/memorandum/contents
	Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) (Amendment) Regulations 2011:
	www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2011/2711/made
	Tobacco Advertising and Promotion (Display) (England) Regulations 2010:
	www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2010/445/memorandum/contents

Social Services

Virendra Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proportion of the £648 million allocated for local authority spending on social care that also benefits health in 2011-12 was spent by each local authority in England on (a) prevention services, (b) communicating equipment and adaptations, (c) telecare, (d) crisis response services, (e) maintaining eligibility criteria, (f) re-ablement and (g) mental health.

Paul Burstow: The Department does not hold the information in the exact form it has been requested. In September 2011, the Department collected information from primary care trusts to understand how the transfer of national health service money was progressing and on which services it was being used. A demonstrative graph of all of the forms that the money is being spent on can be found in the NHS publication “The Quarter”, a copy of which has been placed in the Library.
	When the information was collected, the majority of money had yet to be transferred, but agreements had been made which set out on which services the money would be spent.
	The proportion of £648 million NHS transfer to local authorities was spent on different services as follows:
	(a) Prevention (not including community equipment and adaptations)—10%
	(b) Community equipment and adaptations—5%
	(c) Telecare—4%
	(d) Crisis response services—8%
	(e) Maintaining eligibility criteria—18%
	(f) Re-ablement—18%
	(g) Mental health—5%
	The remainder of the transfer was spent on the following services:
	Integrated crisis and rapid response services—8%
	Bed-based intermediate care services—10%
	Early supported hospital discharge schemes—8%
	Other services—14%

Social Services

Virendra Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans his Department has to introduce a national assessment framework for social care; and if he will make a statement.

Paul Burstow: The Government will publish their plans for social care reform in a care and support White Paper and progress report on funding in the spring. This will include responding to the recommendations made by the Law Commission and Commission on Funding of Care and Support on assessment.

Social Services

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people have received care packages following an assessment by social services in each local authority in each of the last five years.

Paul Burstow: Data on the provision of care packages provided by Councils with Adult Social Services Responsibilities (CASSR) is collected and published by the Health and Social Care Information Centre via the National Adult Social Care Intelligence Service.
	Data on local authority care package provision is provided in the following table for 2006-07; 2007-08; 2008-09; 2009-10 and 2010-11. The data for 2010-11 is provisional and subject to change. Final data for 2010-11 is due to be published late March 2012.
	
		
			 Total number of adult clients (all ages) receiving social care services following an assessment by each local authority area in the period 2006-07, 2007-08, 2008-09, 2009-10, and 2010-11 
			  2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 (provisional) 
			 Cumbria 20,210 18,585 19,000 19,920 19,210 
			 Northumberland 16,065 17,675 16,995 16,815 13,360 
			 Gateshead 7,660 8,015 7,875 7,210 5,545 
			 Newcastle upon Tyne 11,040 9,430 9,400 9,615 9,780 
			 North Tyneside 9,020 8,150 7,295 7,185 7,005 
			 South Tyneside 6,370 6,410 6,460 6,605 6,640 
			 Sunderland 12,515 12,750 11,375 10,685 7,575 
			 Hartlepool 4,935 4,260 4,555 5,060 4,870 
			 Middlesbrough 6,055 6,225 6,380 7,045 7,030 
			 Redcar and Cleveland 5,605 5,795 6,100 7,005 6,660 
			 Stockton-on-Tees 7,845 8,110 8,160 8,050 8,145 
			 Durham 26,695 20,285 19,775 19,645 19,875 
			 Darlington 3,885 4,015 3,860 3,855 3,890 
			 Barnsley 11,340 11,735 10,545 6,635 6,715 
			 Doncaster 6,025 7,715 8,815 9,465 8,610 
			 Rotherham 8,060 7,660 8,100 8,050 8,395 
			 Sheffield 17,715 16,610 18,050 16,630 15,130 
			 Bradford 14,570 14,660 14,980 15,405 14,905 
			 Calderdale 6,860 7,210 7,445 7,175 5,475 
			 Kirklees 14,920 15,455 16,520 16,410 17,440 
			 Leeds 19,765 19,425 18,890 17,620 17,245 
			 Wakefield 8,855 9,540 9,045 9,280 9,465 
			 East Riding of Yorkshire 13,345 16,200 15,910 15,330 11,845 
			 Kingston upon Hull 11,390 11,410 10,935 10,130 9,510 
			 North East Lincolnshire 6,820 7,085 7,390 7,465 6,640 
			 North Lincolnshire 6,290 5,545 5,890 5,690 5,835 
			 North Yorkshire 23,835 22,145 25,795 25,810 23,180 
			 York 6,790 6,390 6,845 6,890 7,090 
			 Bolton 10,165 9,910 10,245 9,040 9,310 
			 Bury 6,980 6,595 6,610 6,410 6,530 
			 Manchester 14,675 13,790 11,635 10,165 9,810 
			 Oldham 8,045 7,495 8,000 7,530 5,950 
			 Rochdale 7,755 7,885 7,560 6,925 7,345 
			 Salford 10,520 9,905 9,420 9,040 9,240 
			 Stockport 12,480 11,080 9,765 8,330 8,265 
		
	
	
		
			 Tameside 9,770 10,250 10,910 11,455 10,890 
			 Trafford 8,575 8,495 8,375 8,650 8,965 
			 Wigan 10,165 10,200 10,100 10,875 9,705 
			 Knowsley 5,535 5,685 5,655 5,495 5,185 
			 Liverpool 16,375 17,575 15,465 15,690 14,710 
			 Sefton 10,065 10,390 11,355 11,965 12,405 
			 St Helens 7,785 7,955 7,960 6,155 6,585 
			 Wirral 11,530 11,780 11,110 10,385 10,525 
			 Cheshire 21,770 20,175 20,950 — — 
			 Halton 4,605 4,785 4,880 4,825 4,935 
			 Warrington 7,850 7,780 7,360 7,490 7,530 
			 Lancashire 36,730 36,250 37,575 37,285 36,735 
			 Blackburn with Darwen 4,050 3,945 3,635 3,900 4,335 
			 Blackpool 6,400 5,355 5,445 5,450 5,555 
			 Cheshire East — — — 11,990 10,970 
			 Cheshire West and Chester — — — 10,890 10,675 
			 Warwickshire 14,975 16,290 20,415 15,115 11,645 
			 Birmingham 28,665 28,590 27,990 28,855 27,180 
			 Coventry 6,950 6,630 7,650 7,615 9,340 
			 Dudley 12,700 12,410 12,235 12,120 14,085 
			 Sandwell 11,285 11,020 12,050 11,630 8,705 
			 Solihull 7,140 7,515 6,895 6,700 5,395 
			 Walsall 7,750 7,980 8,305 8,445 5,580 
			 Wolverhampton 8,325 7,915 7,585 6,535 5,795 
			 Staffordshire 25,560 24,650 25,825 27,490 28,535 
			 Stoke-on-Trent 8,885 9,415 10,370 10,645 10,205 
			 Herefordshire 6,065 6,430 6,235 6,460 6,415 
			 Worcestershire 18,360 17,760 17,775 16,875 10,460 
			 Shropshire 12,050 11,950 11,650 11,980 12,040 
			 Telford and the Wrekin 7,000 6,560 6,115 5,940 5,415 
			 Lincolnshire 22,450 25,805 22,015 21,975 20,140 
			 Northamptonshire 19,170 17,925 17,370 16,170 13,470 
			 Derbyshire 28,815 28,900 29,665 27,090 23,740 
			 Derby 10,450 9,765 9,525 7,865 7,815 
			 Leicestershire 17,275 17,430 18,310 17,515 16,560 
			 Leicester 7,905 8,095 7,820 7,895 8,065 
			 Rutland 1,200 1,240 1,310 1,345 1,145 
			 Nottinghamshire 26,900 26,910 28,845 27,595 22,780 
			 Nottingham 8,880 8,340 9,625 9,490 9,295 
			 Hertfordshire 27,345 29,340 29,840 28,835 26,515 
			 Norfolk 34,585 32,005 33,415 31,530 21,335 
			 Oxfordshire 17,000 18,285 17,485 17,545 12,690 
			 Suffolk 24,575 20,850 18,100 18,020 18,075 
			 Bedfordshire 11,795 12,130 11,700 — — 
			 Luton 4,520 4,290 3,965 4,480 4,805 
			 Buckinghamshire 11,065 13,380 15,510 14,495 13,785 
			 Milton Keynes 6,305 9,165 5,685 5,630 4,425 
			 Bracknell Forest 3,340 3,740 3,760 3,655 3,295 
			 West Berkshire 4,490 4,685 4,845 4,890 4,895 
			 Reading 4,220 4,500 4,530 4,615 4,200 
			 Slough 3,515 3,460 3,170 3,490 3,050 
			 Windsor and Maidenhead 3,640 4,265 4,505 4,540 3,965 
			 Wokingham 3,165 3,035 3,320 3,150 3,030 
			 Essex 48,080 47,220 48,775 48,165 48,675 
			 Southend-on-Sea 6,580 6,875 7,560 7,195 6,885 
			 Thurrock 3,525 4,010 3,925 3,540 2,720 
			 Cambridgeshire 14,995 16,355 15,130 15,845 15,285 
			 Peterborough 5,560 6,345 5,445 5,900 5,935 
			 Bedford — — — 4,805 3,995 
			 Central Bedfordshire — — — 6,570 5,180 
			 Camden 6,570 6,090 6,050 6,660 5,450 
			 Greenwich 5,780 6,490 6,610 5,730 5,590 
			 Hackney 6,190 5,845 5,650 5,575 5,390 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 5,635 5,200 4,880 4,740 4,215 
		
	
	
		
			 Islington 5,255 5,485 5,645 5,380 4,845 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 6,100 5,690 5,915 6,375 6,130 
			 Lambeth 7,660 7,645 8,025 8,755 8,870 
			 Lewisham 5,615 5,900 7,515 7,040 6,960 
			 Southwark 7,870 7,425 7,115 5,215 5,270 
			 Tower Hamlets 6,700 6,425 6,345 6,375 4,430 
			 Wandsworth 7,145 7,020 7,845 5,455 4,840 
			 Westminster 6,370 6,730 6,985 7,090 7,310 
			 City of London 350 325 305 295 295 
			 Barking and Dagenham 5,170 5,530 5,675 6,430 6,660 
			 Barnet 7,630 7,360 7,410 7,365 7,395 
			 Bexley 10,320 9,970 7,840 7,595 7,275 
			 Brent 7,645 7,480 8,365 7,075 6,260 
			 Bromley 10,350 10,445 8,590 8,480 8,260 
			 Croydon 8,450 8,810 9,935 10,515 8,690 
			 Ealing 8,850 8,705 10,135 10,020 9,555 
			 Enfield 9,060 9,225 10,575 10,575 10,500 
			 Haringey 6,695 6,380 6,185 5,745 5,375 
			 Harrow 6,830 5,300 6,505 6,820 6,610 
			 Havering 8,185 8,140 8,080 6,825 6,625 
			 Hillingdon 6,210 6,050 5,840 5,770 6,050 
			 Hounslow 6,095 6,465 6,465 6,355 5,960 
			 Kingston upon Thames 4,395 4,220 4,160 3,410 2,795 
			 Merton 5,550 5,095 5,020 4,950 4,835 
			 Newham 6,845 6,645 6,770 6,070 4,905 
			 Redbridge 8,545 10,360 8,230 7,790 7,500 
			 Richmond upon Thames 5,315 4,800 4,645 4,630 2,825 
			 Sutton 6,025 6,330 6,460 6,395 4,630 
			 Waltham Forest 4,955 4,635 4,675 4,010 3,890 
			 Isle of Wight 8,135 6,900 7,155 4,580 4,270 
			 Surrey 24,940 25,990 28,710 31,095 29,030 
			 West Sussex 27,620 27,865 26,005 22,025 24,460 
			 Dorset 12,440 12,420 12,670 13,255 12,930 
			 Bournemouth 5,755 6,560 6,420 6,265 4,810 
			 Poole 6,540 7,330 6,945 7,020 4,995 
			 Hampshire 94,050 88,635 90,275 45,510 44,290 
			 Portsmouth 6,395 7,625 6,295 6,815 6,190 
			 Southampton 8,730 8,955 8,850 9,850 10,160 
			 East Sussex 16,665 17,075 17,985 18,525 17,745 
			 Brighton and Hove 9,585 10,100 9,885 9,360 4,870 
			 Wiltshire 16,635 15,285 15,335 16,670 15,560 
			 Swindon 6,000 6,050 6,150 6,170 5,990 
			 Kent 47,660 46,115 45,020 46,080 43,165 
			 Medway Towns 8,170 9,515 9,525 8,665 8,165 
			 Cornwall 29,025 31,180 28,340 18,910 20,445 
			 Gloucestershire 20,340 21,230 23,030 25,775 21,660 
			 Somerset 27,370 27,960 27,955 33,460 29,040 
			 Isles of Scilly 85 75 60 55 65 
			 Bath and North East Somerset 5,450 5,620 4,570 5,325 5,310 
			 Bristol 12,425 13,975 14,990 14,550 13,720 
			 North Somerset 5,885 6,855 7,160 6,575 5,935 
			 South Gloucestershire 8,910 9,440 9,105 8,835 6,200 
			 Devon 26,690 27,575 29,100 26,790 24,650 
			 Plymouth 9,595 10,140 10,675 11,010 7,710 
			 Torbay 5,575 5,715 6,230 6,485 5,870 
			 Notes: 1. In 2009-10 the two councils Bedfordshire and Cheshire each split into two councils Bedford and Central Bedfordshire and Cheshire East and Cheshire West and Chester respectively. 2. All adult clients counted as receiving services must have had an assessment prior to the allocation of those services. 3. The information provided is derived from data collected annually on referrals, assessments and packages of care from CASSRs on the form proforma P1. The data contained within the table are rounded to the nearest five. Source: RAP P1 proforma

Social Services: Disadvantaged

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much funding his Department has allocated to the troubled families initiative in (a) 2011-12, (b) 2012-13, (c) 2013-14 and (d) 2014-15.

Paul Burstow: The Department is contributing funding of £0 in 2011-12, £15 million in 2012-13, up to £20 million in 2013-14, and up to £25 million in 2014-15 to the troubled families initiative.

Social Services: Disadvantaged

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many civil servants in his Department are working on the troubled families initiative.

Paul Burstow: Co-ordination of the Department's input to the troubled families programme is being carried out by three civil servants, although they are not working full-time on the troubled families initiative. Their total resource input is estimated to be around one full-time equivalent.

Social Services: Disadvantaged

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much funding the NHS will contribute from pre-allocated resources towards the troubled families initiative in (a) 2011-12, (b) 2012-13, (c) 2013-14 and (d) 2014-15.

Paul Burstow: The Department will contribute funding of £15 million in 2012-13, up to £20 million in 2013-14, and up to £25 million in 2014-15 to the troubled families initiative. This funding is drawn from the Department’s central budgets.
	The national health service funding contributes, to a wide range of health care services which are available to troubled families. Some of these services are universal (such as access to general practitioners) while others are targeted on groups of people with specific needs (such as mental health services). It is not possible to identify exactly which NHS resources are used by people from troubled families.

Streptococcus: Pregnant Women

Jo Swinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what consideration he has given to routinely offering Enriched Culture Method tests to pregnant women to detect Group B Streptococcus infection;
	(2)  if he will make an assessment of the merits of routinely assessing pregnant women for Group B Streptococcus infection.

Anne Milton: The UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC) advises Ministers and the national health service in all four United Kingdom countries about all aspects of screening policy, including, screening policy for Group B Streptococcus (GBS) carriage in pregnancy. The UK NSC is currently reviewing the evidence for screening for GBS carriage in pregnancy using the enriched culture medium test against its criteria. A public consultation on the screening review will open in spring 2012.

Telemedicine

Virendra Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what assessment his Department has made of the effect of telehealth and telecare services on improving patient experience in the NHS and adult social services; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what assessment his Department has made of the effect of telehealth and telecare services on delivering efficiency savings in the NHS and adult social services; and if he will make a statement;
	(3)  what plans his Department has to support (a) primary care trusts, (b) clinical commissioning groups and (c) local authorities to commission telehealth and telecare services for people with long-term care needs; and if he will make a statement.

Paul Burstow: The Department has been trialling the effect of telehealth and telecare in the Whole System Demonstrator programme, a large-scale randomised control trial. Early headline findings published by the Department on 5 December 2011 have demonstrated that when used appropriately there is potential to reduce emergency admissions and mortality. The Department estimates there are 3 million people with long term conditions who could benefit from this approach, which is why the Department and leaders from industry signed a concordat demonstrating a commitment to deliver telehealth and telecare to those who will benefit. This is the Three Million Lives initiative launched on 19 January 2012.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Argentina

Andrew Stephenson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment his Department has made of the effect of Argentine trade restrictions of the UK economy.

Jeremy Browne: The UK values its relationship with Argentina but was disappointed and concerned by the recent Argentine actions in respect of our trading relationships.
	We have raised our concerns regarding Argentina's actions with their Chargé in London, and made clear that actions against legitimate commercial activity are unacceptable and a matter of concern not just for the UK, but for the EU as a whole. We will remain in close contact with UK businesses trading with Argentina, and will provide them all appropriate support.
	It is not yet clear what impact, if any, Argentina's recent action will have on the UK economy. In 2011, Argentina had a trade surplus with the UK, exporting £589 million in goods and importing £383 million.

Council of Europe

Mark Durkan: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of progress under the UK Chairmanship of the Council of Europe's Committee of Ministers in (a) developing practical measures to combat discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation and gender identity and (b) streamlining the Council of Europe's activities in support of local and regional democracy.

David Lidington: In January the Council of Europe established a Committee on Equal Opportunities and Non Discrimination. This new Committee has a remit to progress broader equality issues, including Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGB&T) rights. The Council of Europe Secretariat has also, with the benefit of voluntary contributions, been able to establish a Unit to promote LGB&T rights with certain partner countries. To further this work the UK will host a conference to promote Council of Europe Recommendations on combating discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation or gender identity in Strasbourg on 27 March.
	The UK is working to streamline the Council of Europe's activities in support of local and regional democracy. We hosted a High Level Meeting on 13 February at Lancaster House where ideas to achieve better co-ordination and co-operation in order to deliver better value for money and impact were discussed. The next step will be for the UK to come forward with proposals that can command consensus.

Election Observers

Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what criteria the Government applies when deciding to which countries that are holding elections to send electoral observers.

Jeremy Browne: Supporting elections and electoral processes is central to the UK's work to advance democracy. We support election observation by providing UK observers and financial assistance to international organisations that carry out election observation missions, in particular the EU, the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) and the Commonwealth. We encourage states to invite international observation missions; while not all states are obliged to, we welcome commitments, such as those by OSCE participating states, to do so.
	We do not have set criteria in assessing which observation missions to support. We support requests for international observation where the basic conditions for free and fair elections are in place, and where practical conditions allow for a successful observation mission. The decision on whether to support would take into account a range of factors including UK foreign policy priorities, the risk of instability, fraud or conflict around the election.

Iran

James Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to the Iranian Government concerning the sentence of 18 years imprisonment imposed on the human rights lawyer Abdolfattah Soltani; and if he will make a statement.

Alistair Burt: I was appalled to see reports of the sentencing of lawyer Abdolfattah Soltani to 18 years in prison. It is shocking that the charges against him of co-operation with a non-governmental organisation and of receiving an international human rights award should be considered offences at all. We will continue to urge Iran to address its human rights record, including at the UN Human Rights Council which meets this month.

Iran

Louise Ellman: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with his Iranian counterpart on the safety of BBC Persia television staff and their families.

Alistair Burt: We remain deeply concerned about the unacceptable harassment of BBC Persia staff by the Iranian authorities. Last month, BBC Director General Mark Thompson revealed that the Iranian regime is intimidating the family members of their staff in order to put pressure on them, a truly deplorable tactic. In a statement on 2 February, I called on the Iranian authorities to cease immediately their harassment of all journalists, including those working for BBC Persia. I have not discussed this issue with my Iranian counterpart, but we will continue to raise our concerns about Iran's appalling human rights record, including at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva this month.

Iran

Louise Ellman: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps he has taken to secure visas for the families of BBC Persia staff following the closure of the UK embassy in Tehran.

Alistair Burt: Regrettably, the closure of our embassy in Tehran following the attack on our diplomatic compounds in November has meant that all applicants must now travel outside Iran to obtain a UK visa. However, the UK Border Agency (UKBA) does continue to offer a full visa service to Iranians through the United Arab Emirates and Turkey. As in all cases, UKBA must be satisfied that applicants meet the UK Immigration Rules.
	The families of BBC Persian staff who have reported being harassed by the Iranian authorities have our full sympathy. I have called on the Iranian authorities to cease this harassment immediately.

Serbia: Ghana

Denis MacShane: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make an official protest to the government of Serbia on its expulsion of the ambassador of Ghana following his country's recognition of Kosovo.

David Lidington: Despite media reporting regarding the absence of the Ghanaian ambassador to Serbia I am not aware of official statements from either Government clarifying the situation.

Turkey

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps he is taking to ensure a speedy resolution of Turkey's application to join the EU.

David Lidington: Her Majesty's Government strongly supports Turkey's accession to the EU. We believe this would benefit EU security and prosperity in both the EU and Turkey.
	We are disappointed by the slow progress of the formal negotiations. We are encouraging Turkey to take forward the opportunity presented by the European Commission's 'Positive Agenda' for reinvigorating the broader EU/Turkey relationship, as a complement to the formal accession process.
	Practically, we will continue to provide technical support to assist Turkey's EU Accession, including projects focusing on capacity building and human rights. We will also continue to support the efforts of the two Cypriot leaders to reach a Cyprus settlement.

Turkey

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with his German and French counterparts on Turkey's application to join the EU.

David Lidington: The UK remains the strongest supporter of EU membership for Turkey.
	In November 2011 I spoke to Dr Werner Hoyer, then German Europe Minister, on the Cyprus Settlement negotiations and support for taking forward the EU's positive agenda for Turkey. I also had discussions with Ruprecht Polenz, (Chair of the Parliamentary Committee on Foreign Affairs in Germany). He emphasised that there were many in the Bundestag who supported eventual EU membership for Turkey. The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), and his German counterpart co-signed an article in December outlining support for Turkey's accession process.
	The Secretary of State and I have also had regular discussions with our French and German counterparts in the margins of Foreign Affairs and General Affairs Council. While our opinions on Turkey's EU accession may vary, we see the value of a strong EU/Turkey relationship and we continue to work closely on deepening foreign policy co-operation between Turkey and the EU.

WOMEN AND EQUALITIES

UN Security Council Resolution

Naomi Long: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities what assessment she has made of the implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1325 in Northern Ireland.

Lynne Featherstone: UN Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1325 makes provision for the protection of women in armed conflicts and to encourage their participation in conflict resolution and political and public life.
	The situation in Northern Ireland has never been considered to be an armed conflict, as defined in international law. Nevertheless, some aspects of UNSCR 1325 such as participation in peace and political processes are relevant to all states and the Government will continue to work towards increasing the representation of women in Northern Ireland in public and political life.

EDUCATION

Child Minding

Fiona Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what steps the Government has taken to maintain the standards which registered childminders are required to meet.

Sarah Teather: Child minders caring for children aged 0-5 have to meet the requirements set out in the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) and those caring for children aged 5-8 have to meet the requirements in the General Childcare Register (GCR). Ofsted inspects child minders on both of the registers to ensure that childminders are meeting these standards.
	The Government are reforming the EYFS, reducing burdens on providers while continuing to drive improvements in quality. Along with revisions to the EYFS, we are making some changes to the requirements in the GCR to maintain the alignment between the two registers. The reforms will be implemented from September 2012.
	We are also working with the sector in other ways to help child minders maintain and improve standards so they can continue to make a distinctive contribution to early education and child care, delivered in a home environment.

COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Affordable Housing: Construction

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many affordable homes have been (a) begun and (b) completed in each local authority in the north-west since May 2010.

Andrew Stunell: holding answer 5 March 2012
	The following table shows the number of affordable homes started and completed in each local authority in the north-west between April 2010 and September 2011, the latest period for which data are available, as reported in the Homes and Communities Agency's six monthly National Housing Statistics. These statistics cover affordable housing that is delivered through the Homes and Communities Agency's national Affordable Housing programme, and therefore exclude affordable housing that is delivered without this Homes and Communities Agency grant funding. In the table housing starts cover new build homes only, while completions includes new build and acquisitions.
	
		
			  Starts Completions 
			 Allerdale 86 68 
			 Barrow-in-Furness 19 68 
			 Blackburn with Darwen 42 142 
			 Blackpool 57 205 
			 Bolton 70 246 
			 Burnley 38 46 
			 Bury 42 114 
			 Carlisle 80 179 
			 Cheshire East 96 162 
			 Cheshire West and Chester 123 355 
			 Chester 0 84 
			 Chorley 88 131 
			 Copeland 63 48 
			 Crewe and Nantwich 0 48 
			 Eden 73 28 
			 Fylde 28 122 
			 Halton 183 193 
			 Hyndburn 6 3 
			 Knowsley 179 194 
			 Lancaster 53 48 
			 Liverpool 428J 368 
			 Macclesfield 13 77 
		
	
	
		
			 Manchester 273 402 
			 Oldham 99 133 
			 Pendle 9 26 
			 Preston 25 12 
			 Ribble Valley 62 34 
			 Rochdale 119 194 
			 Rossendale 30 37 
			 Salford 200 233 
			 Sefton 247 207 
			 South Lakeland 83 48 
			 South Ribble 11 32 
			 St. Helens 114 148 
			 Stockport 159 102 
			 Tameside 72 99 
			 Trafford 43 131 
			 Vale Royal 0 15 
			 Warrington 67 272 
			 West Lancashire 137 31 
			 Wigan 66 193 
			 Wirral 128 247 
			 Wyre 55 60 
			 North-west total 3,766 5,585 
			 Source: Homes and Communities Agency national Affordable Housing programme. Housing starts cover new build starts only while completions include new build and acquisitions.

Homelessness: North West

John Pugh: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps are being taken to reduce levels of homelessness in the north-west.

Grant Shapps: This Government are committed to tackling homelessness. We have maintained funding for Homelessness Grant at 2010-11 levels—with £400 million over the next four years. A list of allocations for Preventing Homelessness Grant to individual local authorities in 2011-12 can be obtained from the Department's website at:
	http://www.communities.gov.uk/localgovernment/localgovernmentfinance/supportgrant/
	In addition, Supporting People investment—at £6.5 billion over the spending review period—will protect the preventative services that help the most vulnerable live independently and retain their tenancies. On top of that the Government have announced an additional £70 million investment this year:
	£20 million—Homelessness Transition Fund to support the roll-out of ‘No Second Night Out’ and protect vital front line services.
	£20 million—Preventing Repossessions Fund to enable local authorities to intervene earlier and help people stay in their homes.
	£20 million—Single Homelessness Prevention Fund to help ensure single homeless people get access to good housing advice.
	£5 million boost to the Homelessness Change Programme (bringing the total investment to £42.5 million) to deliver improved hostel provision and provide over 1,500 new and improved bed spaces.
	£5 million—Social Impact Bond—using a payment by results model to help persistent rough sleepers in London. This is the first Social Impact Bond set up to tackle homelessness in the world.
	Homelessness is half the average rate under the previous Administration and it remains lower than in 28 of the last 30 years.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Bilateral Aid

Rushanara Ali: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many staff his Department employs working on bilateral aid programmes.

Alan Duncan: The Department for International Development employs 486 home civil servants and 843 staff appointed in country all working overseas on bilateral aid programmes.

British Overseas Territories

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps his Department is taking to improve broadband internet provision in British Overseas Territories.

Alan Duncan: Good connectivity is important for the aided overseas territories, especially for those which are particularly isolated and cannot easily link to regional IT providers. There is currently no broadband connection in any aided overseas territory.
	The Government of St. Helena is exploring the feasibility and potential costs of connecting St Helena with broadband suppliers. In the meantime, the Department for International Development has paid for recent increases in bandwidth of the satellite telecommunications link to St Helena. This is helping students to benefit from distance learning opportunities and allows the hospital to connect to better health service information.
	The Government of Montserrat has commissioned a study on options to improve information communications technology. This is due to report later this month.
	Tristan da Cunha and Pitcairn also rely on satellite connections links, paid for through the budget aid settlement. There are no plans to provide either territory with broadband connections.

Departmental Ethnic Minority Staff

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many and what proportion of senior civil servants in his Department were from an ethnic minority in March (a) 2010, (b) 2011 and (c) 2012; and if he will make a statement.

Alan Duncan: The latest figures on the number and percentage of senior civil servants (SCS) in the Department for International Development (DFID) from a black and ethnic minority (BME) background were:
	
		
			  Number Percentage 
			 March 2010 8 11.3 
			 March 2011 6 10 
		
	
	These are based on quarterly returns. The data for March 2012 will not be available until after 31 March 2012.
	DFID has produced annual departmental staff reports containing this information for several years and these have been available on request.

Food Aid

Nick Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent assessment he has made of the costs and benefits of early intervention in food crises.

Stephen O'Brien: Our initial assessments show that early intervention in a food crisis can provide significant benefits, but more work is needed to develop and understand the evidence for this. The Department for International Development is currently funding a study to look at the response to the food crisis in the Horn of Africa. By analysing data on the investments made by international agencies and their impacts, this study will help to identify early interventions which provide best value for money. Its results should lead to more effective early action which will help to limit the impact of future crises.

Israel

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent representations he has made to the Israeli Government over water supply policies in the Jordan Valley.

Alan Duncan: The fair and effective distribution of shared water resources across the middle east is of great concern to the UK. We have regular discussions with the Israeli authorities on the issue of access to water in the occupied Palestinian Territories, including the Jordan Valley. I raised this issue in June 2011 during my visit to the occupied Palestinian Territories and it was most recently raised by the British embassy in January 2012.

Palestinians

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what representations he has made to the Israeli government on the reduction in permitted fishing off the coast of Gaza.

Alan Duncan: The UK regularly makes representations at both ministerial and official level to the Government of Israel on the urgent need to ease restrictions on Gaza. Most recently, the Secretary of State for International Development, my right hon. Friend the Member for Sutton Coldfield (Mr Mitchell), and the Minister for the Middle East, my hon. Friend the Member for North East Bedfordshire (Alistair Burt), discussed these issues during visits to the region in December 2011 and January 2012.
	As part of our engagement with the Israeli authorities, we frequently emphasise the impact restrictions have had on industry in Gaza. Alongside our EU colleagues, we have urged Israel to extend the fishing zone from three to twenty nautical miles, as stipulated in the Oslo Accords.

Palestinians

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what representations he has made to the Israeli government on ending restrictions on exports from Gaza.

Alan Duncan: The UK has made it clear to the Israeli Government that more needs to be done to meet its commitments to ease restrictions on exports, as agreed with the Quartet Representative in February 2011. This includes lifting restrictions on the transfer of goods to the West Bank and exports to Israel, which form Gaza's traditional markets. We continue to raise this issue regularly at both official and ministerial level, including in recent visits to the region by the Secretary of State for International Development, my right hon. Friend the Member for Sutton Coldfield (Mr Mitchell), and the Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my hon. Friend the Member for North East Bedfordshire (Alistair Burt).

Palestinians

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent assessment he has made of the level of unemployment in Gaza.

Alan Duncan: According to the latest figures from the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, overall unemployment in Gaza declined from 38% in 2010 to 26% in the second quarter of 2011. Youth unemployment has declined over the same period, but remains very high at 38% for 15 to 29-year-olds. We are concerned that this upward trend in employment is unsustainable. Many of those now employed are working in short-term jobs created as a result of a construction boom fuelled by trade through the Hamas-controlled tunnels and a modest increase in international reconstruction projects. Overall labour force participation remains very low at less than 40%.
	UK aid is supporting over 340 companies in Gaza to generate jobs for over 1,900 unemployed Gazans. We continue to urge the Israeli Government to ease movement and access restrictions on Gaza to support the rebuilding of the Gazan economy and improve access to work for ordinary Gazans.

Palestinians

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent estimate he has made of the number of Gazans dependent on food aid.

Alan Duncan: According to the latest figures from the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UN-OCHA), 66% of Gazans depend either entirely or partly on food aid. Over the next four years, UK aid will provide food vouchers to 5,750 poor households and temporary work opportunities to 5,300 vulnerable refugees each year to enable them to meet their basic food needs. We continue to call on the Israeli Government to ease movement and access restrictions to enable the rebuilding of the Gazan economy and to reduce aid dependency.

Palestinians

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent discussions he has had with the Egyptian authorities on the full opening of the Rafah crossing into Gaza.

Alan Duncan: During his visit to Egypt in May 2011, the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), discussed the relaxation of the Rafah crossing controls with the then Egyptian Foreign Minister, Nabil al-Arabi. Following these discussions, the UK welcomed the decision by Egypt on 27 May 2011 to partially ease restrictions on the movement of people through the Rafah crossing. However, Rafah is not suitable for commercial goods or large amounts of humanitarian aid. We are clear that the key to the economic regeneration of Gaza is the easing of restrictions at the Israeli crossings into Gaza, including for exports, construction material imports and the movement of people.

Regulation

Gordon Banks: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many regulations his Department has repealed between 1 June 2011 and 31 January 2012; and if he will estimate the likely savings to the public purse in each case.

Alan Duncan: I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave on 21 June 2011, Official Report, column 199W.

Sahel

Nick Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what presence (a) his Department and (b) the Government has in the Sahel.

Stephen O'Brien: The Department for International Development has no presence in the Sahel, but we have a London-based humanitarian team that covers the region. An official from the team visited Niger in February 2012.
	The UK Government have a Political Office in Mauritania (with a cross-accredited ambassador resident in Morocco) and an embassy in Mali. Our ambassador to Mali is cross-accredited to Niger. Our regional counter-terrorism adviser in Algiers provides thematic coverage and UK Defence Attaches in Morocco and Ghana provide non-resident military coverage. Our posts in Mauritania and Mali have five or fewer members of staff. This includes UK-based civil servants and staff employed locally. For operational and security reasons we are unable to provide a further breakdown of the size of our posts.

Tanzania: Radar

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development pursuant to the answer of 31 January 2012, Official Report, columns 588-9W, on Tanzania: radar, what progress has been made in reaching an agreement on the oversight of the £29.5 million which BAe systems is required to pay to the government of Tanzania; and when he expects the payment to be made.

Andrew Mitchell: We expect all parties to sign the Memorandum of Understanding governing the use of the payment from BAe to Tanzania this week.
	The funds will then be transferred to Tanzania within 14 working days.

Wellingborough

Peter Bone: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if he will relocate his Department to Wellingborough.

Alan Duncan: There are no plans to relocate the Department for International Development to Wellingborough. The Department plans to move its London headquarters to more cost-effective accommodation in Whitehall and, as part of this move, will relocate some posts from its London headquarters to its second headquarters in East Kilbride near Glasgow, where around 500 people are currently located (some 40% of the UK-based work force).

TRANSPORT

Cycling: Safety

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment she has made of the merits of introducing a one metre rule for motorists overtaking cyclists; and if she will make a statement.

Norman Baker: All drivers have a duty of care and consideration to other road users. Rules 163 and 211 to 213 of the Highway Code advise drivers to give cyclists at least as much room as a car when overtaking, and to give them plenty of room and pay attention to any sudden change they may have to make.
	Although failure to comply with this advice will not, in itself, cause a person to be prosecuted, the Highway Code may be used in evidence in any court proceedings under the Traffic Acts to establish liability. This includes rules which use advisory wording such as ‘should/should not’ or ‘do/do not’.
	To make a law that suggest any space less than one metre is illegal when overtaking cyclists would be difficult to enforce.

Driving under Influence: Rehabilitation

Paul Blomfield: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the answer of 20 February 2012, Official Report, column 568W, on driving under influence: rehabilitation, if she will list all the meetings that her Department has had with AA Drivetech where drink drive rehabilitation was (a) a scheduled agenda item and (b) was not scheduled as an agenda item but arose during the course of the meeting.

Michael Penning: Driving Standards Agency officials have met with AA Drivetech only once, on 17 January 2011. The drink drive rehabilitation scheme was a scheduled agenda item.

Pedicabs

Frank Dobson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  what insurance is required of owners or drivers of pedicabs and rickshaws plying for hire;
	(2)  what assessment she has made of the (a) accessibility and (b) level of compliance with disability discrimination legislation of pedicabs and rickshaws plying for hire;
	(3)  how many passengers of pedicabs and rickshaws plying for hire were injured in the last year for which figures are available.

Norman Baker: Pedicabs outside London are regarded in law as “hackney carriages” (taxis) and local licensing authorities have the power to license them under the existing legislation which applies to hackney carriages. However, in London, pedicabs do not fall within the legal classification of a hackney carriage and are therefore not subject to formal licensing controls.
	There is no statutory requirement for insurance for pedicabs in London—they are not licensed and they are on a par with ordinary cyclists who do not require insurance. Where pedicabs are licensed as hackney carriages outside London, the licensing authority will be able to require insurance as part of the licensing process.
	In London, pedicabs are the responsibility of the Mayor of London and Transport for London. As such, the Secretary of State has not carried out any specific assessment of accessibility or compliance with disability discrimination legislation. Similarly, the Secretary of State has not collated any information regarding pedicab passenger injuries in London.
	I do, however, recognise the concerns that have been expressed from a number of quarters and I am pleased that the Law Commission, which at the Department's request is carrying out a review of legislation relating to taxis and private hire vehicles, is including the position in respect of pedicabs as part of that review.

Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if she will take steps to increase the sustainability certification of palm biodiesel supplied under the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation.

Norman Baker: The Renewable Transport Fuel Obligations Order was amended in December 2011 to implement the sustainability criteria of the renewable energy directive. This means that certificates are only awarded for the supply of sustainable biofuels that deliver greenhouse gas savings and do not cause undesirable environmental impacts. Suppliers of palm biodiesel are therefore required to demonstrate compliance with these sustainability criteria to benefit from the incentives available under the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation.

Rescue Services: Liverpool

Louise Ellman: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment she has made of the risk of closing Liverpool Coastguard Station.

Michael Penning: The decision I announced on 22 November 2011 included an assessment of the systemic risks associated with the existing national coastguard structure, of which Liverpool Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre forms a part.
	The new ‘National Network’ will address these risks through the application of risk controls or mitigation.
	This information can be found within the supporting documentation to the Blueprint document that was published to support my announcement. A copy of this document is available in the Libraries of the House.

Rescue Services: Liverpool

Louise Ellman: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when Liverpool Coastguard Station will be closed; and if she will make a statement.

Michael Penning: The sequence and provisional closure dates for the Maritime Rescue Coordination Centres (MRCCs) which will close are outlined in the document "Blueprint for Future Coastguard Organisation in the UK"; this document supported my statement to the House on 22 November 2011. A copy of this document is available in the Libraries of the House.
	It should be noted that where it is within the control of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency, the dates and sequence of closure will be driven by operational requirements during the implementation of the programme and, as such, are subject to ongoing review.

Roads: Closures

Ben Wallace: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when she expects to commence the consultation on the closed roads initiative.

Michael Penning: The Department for Transport is currently considering the case for making it easier to hold on-road motor racing events and intends to consult in due course.

Traffic Regulation Orders

Paul Blomfield: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  what assessment she has made of the effect that ending the requirement to advertise traffic regulation orders in local print press would have on (a) the number of jobs at local and regional newspapers and (b) local and regional newspaper revenue;
	(2)  what steps her Department will take to ensure people without internet access are aware of temporary and permanent traffic regulation orders if the requirement to advertise them in local newspapers is removed.

Norman Baker: Following an undertaking in our recent traffic signs policy review document ‘Signing the Way’, a consultation to review the requirements placed on traffic authorities when they propose and make temporary and permanent traffic orders was launched on 30 January 2012. Further information may be found on the Department for Transport website at:
	http://www.dft.gov.uk/consultations/dft-2012-06/
	With regard to the effect the proposals would have on local newspapers, I refer the hon. Member to the impact assessment for the consultation which may be downloaded from the Department's website at:
	http://assets.dft.gov.uk/consultations/dft-2012-06/impact-assessment.pdf
	It is the responsibility of the relevant highway authority to ensure that members of the public are aware of proposals to make temporary and permanent traffic regulation orders. Alongside the consultation, I launched draft guidance which states that:
	“we consider that in most cases on-line publicity alone will not provide the coverage required to publicise traffic orders adequately... the authority will usually need to do something else to inform people.”
	The draft guidance also lays out a range of alternative methods of communication that the authority is asked to consider when deciding how to reach their target audience.

JUSTICE

Cannabis: Convictions

David Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many people were charged with possession of cannabis in (a) Bexleyheath and Crayford constituency and (b) London in each of the last five years.

Crispin Blunt: The number of persons proceeded against at magistrates courts for possession of cannabis in the Greater London area (including the City of London and Metropolitan police force areas) from 2006 to 2010 (latest available) can be viewed in the table.
	Charging data are not collated centrally and therefore proceedings data have been provided in lieu.
	Court proceedings data are not available at parliamentary constituency level.
	Annual court proceedings data for 2011 are planned for publication in May 2012.
	
		
			 Persons proceeded against at magistrates courts for cannabis possession, Greater London (1) , 2006 to 2010 (2,3) 
			 Area 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 
			 Greater London(1) 4,032 4,481 5,287 5,836 7,494 
			 (1) Includes City of London and Metropolitan police force areas. (2) The figures given in the table on court proceedings relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences it is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe. (3) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. Source: Justice Statistics Analytical Services—Ministry of Justice

Drugs: Rehabilitation

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  what the maximum number of crimes someone has been convicted of whilst serving a drug rehabilitation requirement in each of the last three years;
	(2)  how many convictions have been made in respect of crimes committed by people convicted whilst serving a drug rehabilitation requirement in each of the last three years.

Crispin Blunt: The information requested is not available; this is because the police national computer data held by the Ministry of Justice, which covers offenders' criminal histories, does not enable us to identify convictions that took place while offenders were serving drug rehabilitation requirements.

Employment and Support Allowance: Appeals

Liam Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  what the average time is between the referral of employment and support allowance appeals to tribunals and a (a) hearing date and (b) decision being promulgated;
	(2)  what the (a) minimum, (b) maximum and (c) average time is for a tribunal to complete a hearing into an employment and support allowance appeal.

Jonathan Djanogly: The information is as follows:
	(1) During the period 1 April to 31 October 2011 (the latest period for which data has been published) the average time taken from receipt of an employment and support allowance (ESA) appeal by the Social Security and Child Support (SSCS) Tribunal until (a) the date of the first appeal hearing was 23.1 weeks and (b) a decision being issued was 24 weeks. In most ESA appeal hearings a decision notice is issued on the day of the hearing.
	(2) The SSCS Tribunal does not hold information on the single shortest and longest period an appellant waited for a benefit appeal hearing. The information can be provided only at disproportionate cost by manually checking each individual case file. However, during the period 1 April to 31 October 2011, 119,500 ESA appeals were disposed of. Of these 7% were disposed of within four weeks and 0.1% were more than two years old. An appeal may be disposed of without being heard, or be heard on more than one day, for example a hearing may be adjourned for further evidence to be gathered.
	HMCTS is working hard to increase the capacity of the SSCS Tribunal and reduce waiting times. It has implemented a range of measures including recruiting more judges and medical panel members; increasing administrative resources; securing additional estate; increasing the number of cases listed in each session; running double shifts in its largest processing centre; running Saturday sittings in some of the busiest venues; and setting up a customer contact centre to deal with telephone inquiries.
	All of this is having a positive effect. The number of disposals has increased significantly from 279,000 in 2009-10 to 380,000 in 2010-11 and the tribunal will dispose of around 435,000 appeals this year, with the capacity for half a million disposals in 2012-13. Disposals outstripped receipts for the 10 months between January 2011 and October 2011, and the number of cases waiting to be heard reduced by over 35,000 between April and October. The average waiting time has stabilised nationally, and is beginning to fall in many venues.

EU Justice and Home Affairs

Dominic Raab: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many people worked for the Data Protection Secretariat established by EU Council Decision 2000/641/JHA of 17 October 2000 in each of the last 10 years.

Jonathan Djanogly: As at 12 March 2012, there are three officials working for the Data Protection Secretariat. The total number of officials has been the same since the Secretariat was established in 2001.

EU Justice and Home Affairs

Dominic Raab: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice whether the UK has enacted all of the provisions of EU Council Framework Decision 2001/220/JHA; and what assessment his Department has made of its effectiveness in safeguarding victims' rights.

Crispin Blunt: The UK has implemented the Framework Decision through a combination of legislative and administrative measures. The requirements in the Framework Decision were a step towards enabling UK citizens to travel throughout the EU with the confidence that, should they fall victim to crime in any member state, their rights would be respected when participating in criminal proceedings and they would be able to access a minimum level of support.
	However, I share the European Commission's view that the objectives of the Framework Decision have not been fully realised. Last year the European Commission published a proposal for a directive of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing minimum standards on the rights, support and protection of victims of crime. The UK has opted in to this directive.

Legal Aid: Fees and Charges

Tony Lloyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what his policy is on the rate of interest charged on statutory charges for people who have used legal aid; and if he will make a statement.

Jonathan Djanogly: Payment of the statutory charge in respect of the legal aid fund must normally be made immediately. Where the charge attaches to property which is being used as the home of the person liable to pay it, or (in family proceedings) money which is to be used to buy a home, enforcement of the charge may be postponed where it would be unreasonable for the client to repay the relevant amount. In those circumstances simple interest is payable at the rate of 8% a year.

Litter: Prosecutions

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many people were (a) charged, (b) prosecuted and (c) convicted for dropping litter in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement.

Crispin Blunt: The number of defendants proceeded against at magistrates court and found guilty at all courts for littering offences in England and Wales, 2006-10 can be found in the table.
	Charging data are not collected by the Ministry of Justice.
	Annual court proceedings data for 2011 are planned for publication in May 2012.
	
		
			 Number of defendants proceeded against at magistrates court and found guilty at all courts for littering (1) , England and Wales, 2006-10 (2,3) 
			 Defendants 
			  2006 2007 2008 (4) 2009 2010 
			 Proceeded against 2,031 3,066 3,571 4,483 4,548 
			 Found guilty 1,349 2,304 2,715 3,489 3,573 
			 (1) An offence under s.87, 93, 94, 94(8)(9) Environmental Protection Act 1990, as substituted by s.21 Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act 2005. (2) The figures given relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offence for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences, the offence selected is the one for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe. (3) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. (4) Excludes data for Cardiff magistrates court June, July and August 2008.

Regulation

Gordon Banks: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many regulations his Department has repealed between 1 June 2011 and 31 January 2012; and if he will estimate the likely savings to the public purse in each case.

Jonathan Djanogly: Between 1 June 2011 and 31 January 2012, the Ministry of Justice did not repeal any regulation that has regulatory impact.
	The Ministry of Justice will be considering its stock of regulation as part of the Red Tape Challenge later in the year.

Reoffenders: Housing

Robert Buckland: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice if he proposes that housing outcomes will play a role in the payment by results programme to reduce rates of reoffending.

Crispin Blunt: The Ministry of Justice has no plans to pay providers for achieving specific housing outcomes under its payment by results pilot programme.
	For most of the pilots in the programme, providers will be paid by the Ministry of Justice according to their success at achieving a reduction in reoffending. The remaining pilots are testing a justice reinvestment model, targeting a reduction in demand on local justice services. Providers will be given increased freedom to choose the rehabilitation services that are available to offenders within each pilot.

Secure Accommodation

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what steps he is taking to improve the advice and assistance provided to young offenders to secure appropriate accommodation on release.

Crispin Blunt: Youth Offending Teams advise and assist young offenders to find suitable accommodation on release, where necessary securing the involvement of the local Children's Services and/or the housing authority who have statutory responsibilities in respect of young people with accommodation and other needs.
	The Youth Justice Board is working to encourage the setting up and expansion of regional resettlement consortia to promote closer working between Youth Offending Teams, custodial establishments and their partners in the statutory and voluntary sectors to enhance joint planning and commissioning of resettlement services.

Victims: EU Action

Dominic Raab: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what assessment he has made of whether the 2011 proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing minimum standards on the rights, support and protection of victims of crime will improve the position of victims of crime in the UK.

Crispin Blunt: As negotiations on the directive are ongoing it is not yet possible to fully assess its likely impact on the position of victims of crime in the UK. However, we are confident it will significantly improve the position of British victims of crime in other EU countries.

Youth Custody

Alun Michael: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many young adult offenders aged 18 to 20 from each local authority area in Wales have been held in (a) young offender institutions, (b) local prisons and (c) other parts of the secure estate in each month since May 2009.

Crispin Blunt: All young offenders sentenced to detention in a young offender institution (DYOI), which is the most common custodial sentence for this age group, are held in appropriately designated YOI accommodation within the prison estate. The majority of this accommodation is in dedicated YOIs, although some establishments in the estate have a dual designation (designated both as a prison and a YOI) and hold both adult prisoners and young offenders.
	The following table shows the number of offenders aged 18 to 20-years-old with a
	recorded residential address or proxy in each local authority area in Wales who were held in predominant function male young offender institutions, predominant function male local prisons and other prisons (including female prisons) on a set day in each month where data are available since May 2009.
	These figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems, which, as with any large scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.
	Information on offenders' residences is provided by offenders on reception into prison and recorded on a central IT system. Addresses can include a home address, an address to which offenders intend to return on discharge or next of kin address and these figures are provided in the table. If no address is given, an offender's committal court address is used as a proxy for the area in which they are resident. These figures are also included in the table. No address has been recorded and no court information is available for around 3% of all offenders, these figures are excluded from the table.
	
		
			 Number and location of male and female young adult offenders (aged 18-20) originating from each local authority area in Wales 
			   2009 2010 2011 2012 
			 Originating local authority area in Wales Predominant function May Sep Nov Jan Mar May Jul Sep Nov Jan 
			 Anglesey (a) Male young offender institutions — 3 2 2 1 — — — — — 
			  (b) Male local prisons — — 2 2 3 1 1 1 — 2 
			  (c) Other prisons (including female prisons) — — — — — — — — 1 1 
			             
			 Blaenau Gwent (a) Male young offender institutions — 3 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 — 
			  (b) Male local prisons 1 — 4 7 6 7 14 11 8 13 
			  (c) Other prisons (including female prisons) — — — — — — — 1 2 1 
			             
			 Bridgend (a) Male young offender institutions 2 1 — — — — 1 — — — 
			  (b) Male local prisons 7 5 5 9 7 10 4 11 6 8 
			  (c) Other prisons (including female prisons) 3 2 3 4 3 3 2 2 1 — 
			             
			 Caerphilly (a) Male young offender institutions 1 1 — — — — — — — — 
			  (b) Male local prisons 16 13 7 6 7 10 5 7 6 4 
			  (c) Other prisons (including female prisons) — — — — 2 1 1 1 1 1 
			             
			 Cardiff (a) Male young offender institutions 17 33 16 12 11 7 7 7 7 8 
			  (b) Male local prisons 137 106 104 105 97 110 118 105 97 90 
			  (c) Other prisons (including female prisons) 5 10 11 7 5 6 5 5 3 5 
		
	
	
		
			 Carmarthenshire (b) Male local prisons 6 8 6 7 8 12 10 13 10 11 
			  (c) Other prisons (including female prisons) 1 2 — — 1 — — — — 1 
			             
			 Ceredigion (a) Male young offender institutions — 1 1 1 1 — — — — — 
			  (b) Male local prisons 2 — — — — — — — 1 — 
			             
			 Conwy (a) Male young offender institutions 12 7 4 4 3 2 2 8 1 3 
			  (b) Male local prisons 4 4 11 6 5 7 7 8 6 4 
			  (c) Other prisons (including female prisons) 1 — 1 1 2 1 1 — 3 2 
			             
			 Denbighshire (a) Male young offender institutions 7 11 7 5 3 3 4 5 3 2 
			  (b) Male local prisons 12 4 6 10 4 5 3 2 1 3 
			  (c) Other prisons (including female prisons) — — — — 1 — 1 1 3 5 
			             
			 Flintshire (a) Male young offender institutions 9 15 11 7 8 12 10 13 8 6 
			  (b) Male local prisons 19 8 10 15 15 10 15 17 16 11 
			  (c) Other prisons (including female prisons) 1 2 4 2 4 5 3 2 9 6 
			             
			 Gwynedd (a) Male young offender institutions 10 10 9 6 5 9 10 6 5 4 
			  (b) Male local prisons 8 9 11 7 6 4 4 3 1 9 
			  (c) Other prisons (including female prisons) — 1 1 1 2 3 1 2 4 1 
			             
			 Isle of Anglesey (a) Male young offender institutions 4 — — — — — — — — — 
			             
			 Merthyr Tydfil (a) Male young offender institutions 2 13 8 4 1 4 4 4 4 5 
			  (b) Male local prisons 29 39 42 36 36 39 42 36 40 43 
			  (c) Other prisons (including female prisons) — 3 1 — 5 5 5 3 2 6 
			             
			 Monmouthshire (b) Male local prisons 2 — — — 1 1 2 3 1 2 
			             
			 Neath Port Talbot (a) Male young offender institutions — 2 1 2 2 — 1 3 2 3 
			  (b) Male local prisons 4 5 7 6 7 8 5 7 8 8 
		
	
	
		
			  (c) Other prisons (including female prisons) — 2 2 3 3 2 1 2 3 3 
			             
			 Newport (a) Male young offender institutions 6 5 3 3 5 3 3 4 1 4 
			  (b) Male local prisons 33 24 22 12 16 13 21 23 26 24 
			  (c) Other prisons (including female prisons) 1 4 3 3 2 — 1 2 3 3 
			             
			 Pembrokeshire (a) Male young offender institutions 1 — 1 — — — — — — — 
			  (b) Male local prisons 4 1 — 4 4 5 4 1 — 5 
			             
			 Powys (a) Male young offender institutions 6 3 3 3 2 2 1 3 2 2 
			  (b) Male local prisons 2 — 2 1 3 3 2 — 1 4 
			  (c) Other prisons (including female prisons) 1 — 1 1 2 1 1 1 4 1 
			             
			 Rhondda (a) Male young offender institutions — 6 6 6 5 5 3 3 3 3 
			  (b) Male local prisons — 11 8 9 11 10 11 10 18 15 
			  (c) Other prisons (including female prisons) — 2 2 — 1 — — 1 2 2 
			             
			 Rhondda, Cynon, Taff (a) Male young offender institutions 3 — — — — — — — — — 
			  (b) Male local prisons 28 — — — — — — — — — 
			  (c) Other prisons (including female prisons) 2 — — — — — — — — — 
			             
			 Swansea (a) Male young offender institutions 6 7 9 6 7 8 5 2 1 2 
			  (b) Male local prisons 63 50 46 51 49 51 52 52 55 46 
			  (c) Other prisons (including female prisons) 6 8 6 6 3 2 3 3 6 4 
			             
			 The Vale of Glamorgan (a) Male young offender institutions — 2 2 1 2 2 1 1 1 2 
			  (b) Male local prisons 3 8 10 6 9 10 3 9 8 5 
			  (c) Other prisons (including female prisons) — 1 2 1 3 — — 1 1 1 
			             
			 Torfaen (a) Male young offender institutions 1 1 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 — 
			  (b) Male local prisons 3 4 5 3 4 5 1 3 2 8 
		
	
	
		
			  (c) Other prisons (including female prisons) — — — — — — 1 — — — 
			             
			 Wrexham (a) Male young offender institutions 22 14 9 9 10 8 5 6 — 2 
			  (b) Male local prisons 4 4 5 6 3 7 7 5 6 7 
			  (c) Other prisons (including female prisons) 1 2 1 1 2 2 4 2 7 7

BUSINESS, INNOVATION AND SKILLS

Action for Employment

Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills whether the tendering process for the OLASS4 contract was undertaken while A4e were under investigation by (a) the Department of Work and Pensions, (b) the Serious Fraud Office, (c) the police and (d) other public bodies.

John Hayes: Under the Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Act 2009, decisions about the awarding of contracts are for the chief executive of Skills Funding to make.
	In respect of the OLASS4 procurement process, the chief executive is undertaking a procurement process in line with the EU Procurement and EU Remedies Directives. That process is still under way and will not conclude until May 2012 at the earliest.
	As part of this procurement, the chief executive of Skills Funding has made clear to A4e that he must have the results of the independent review of audit and control procedures A4e is undertaking into its own operations, and the results of the Department for Work and Pensions' investigation, before any formal contract with A4e is entered into.

Action for Employment

Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills whether he is reviewing (a) his Department's contract for the provision of education of prisoners and (b) any other departmental contracts held by A4e.

John Hayes: The Department has no contracts with A4e.
	Contracts for the provision of education in prisons and provision covering adult skills in England are made by the chief executive of Skills Funding, supported by the Skills Funding Agency.
	The chief executive is currently undertaking a re-procurement exercise in respect of offender learning and contracts will be agreed in May, at the earliest.
	The chief executive has a number of contracts with A4e for adult skills. In the light of allegations, the chief executive has sought assurance from A4e. As part of this, he is sending in auditors, along with auditors from the Department for Work and Pensions, to ensure there is no risk to public funding and will take appropriate action, including removal of contracts, if the audit findings give grounds for this.

Apprentices

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps he is taking to encourage apprentices to stay with the companies which have trained them; and if he will make a statement.

John Hayes: Apprentices are employees, and will make independent choices about their employment in a similar way to all employees.
	Evidence shows that Apprenticeships deliver economic and social benefits to individuals in terms of higher wages and improved employment prospects, to businesses in the form of higher profits and increased competitiveness, and to the wider economy and society as a whole. Satisfaction rates for Apprenticeships are high, with individuals recognising that the impact of Apprenticeship training is significant and helps with career prospects.
	Apprentices and employers tell us that doing an apprenticeship increases workforce morale and individuals’ loyalty to their employer, particularly where employers support individual apprentices to continue to progress within their business.
	The Government are working to improve the quality of apprenticeships and to ensure individuals and employers understand the benefits which apprenticeships bring. We will continue to champion these benefits to encourage employers to invest in Apprenticeships.

Apprentices: Agriculture

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what measures the Government has introduced since May 2010 to encourage agricultural apprenticeships.

John Hayes: The Apprenticeship programme is our preferred vocational route. It is demand led, therefore expanding and improving the apprenticeship offer depends on businesses taking the opportunity to employ apprentices.
	The National Apprenticeship Service (NAS) works with employers and training providers to increase their participation in apprenticeship delivery and are particularly working with LANTRA, the sector skills council for land based and environmental industries, to increase growth of apprenticeships in agricultural areas.
	Recent announcements on measures to expand opportunities and boost the quality of apprenticeships apply across all sectors. In particular, up to 40,000 incentive payments of £1,500 will be made available for small employers who take on their first new young apprentices. This may be particularly relevant to the agricultural sector.
	We have seen growth in the number of apprenticeship starts in agriculture, horticulture and animal care sector in the 2010/11 academic year (Table 1).
	
		
			 Table 1: Apprenticeship starts in the agriculture, horticulture and animal care sector subject area, 2008/09 to 2010/11 
			  Apprenticeship starts 
			 2008/09 5,210 
			 2009/10 5,690 
			 2010/11 7,380 
			 Notes: 1. All figures are rounded to the nearest 10. 2. Information on the number of apprenticeship starts is published in a quarterly Statistical First Release (SFR). The latest SFR was published on 31 January 2012: http://www.thedataservice.org.uk/statistics/statisticalfirstrelease/sfr_current 3. Information on apprenticeship starts by framework and sector subject areas are available in the SFR Supplementary Tables: http://www.thedataservice.org.uk/statistics/statisticalfirstrelease/sfr_supplementary_tables/Apprenticeship_sfr_supplementary_tables/ Source: Individualised Learner Record

Consumers: Protection

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many full-time equivalent staff in his Department work on (a) promoting fair markets, (b) promoting consumer protection and (c) preventing cartel behaviour; and if he will make a statement.

Norman Lamb: The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) has 376 full-time equivalent staff working within its Market Frameworks Group. Market Frameworks Group is the part of BIS that is responsible for promoting fair markets. Consumer protection and the prevention of cartel behaviour is the responsibility of the Department's Consumer and Competition Policy Directorate (CCP). CCP has 78 full-time equivalent staff. Of these, 39 work on consumer protection issues and 9.7 on competition. The remainder work across CCP on a range of different issues.
	In addition to the staff identified above, others in BIS spend some of their time working in or supporting the work on fair markets, consumer protection and cartel behaviour (eg press officers, better regulation specialists, Ministers' private office staff).

Copyright

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Education on the potential effects on educational material of any proposed changes to licensing schemes.

Norman Lamb: There are regular discussions between Government Departments interested in the Hargreaves agenda, which have included discussions between BIS and Department for Education officials.

Departmental Travel

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many away days his Department has held since May 2010; what the location was of each such away day; how many staff attended; and what the cost was of each such event.

Norman Lamb: The Department has held 64 away days at a cost of £137,000 since May 2010. This includes team and group events. The total number of attendees was 2,815. The average cost per attendee was £48.66. Further details will be placed in the Libraries of the House.
	Training, planning and performance improvement are essential for the long term success of any organisation, and Government is no different. The change of environment can help teams to focus on the objectives of the day, to ensure they are successful.
	Officials at all levels of the Department make every effort to ensure that all such spending is clearly value for money for the taxpayer.

Education: Prisoners

Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what consultation he has held with stakeholders before the awarding of the contract for the education of prisoners.

John Hayes: All decisions relating to the funding of individual training providers, including the award of contracts for offender learning, are made by the chief executive of Skills Funding, supported by the Skills Funding Agency.
	The re-procurement of offender learning (which is currently under way) is being supported by the National Offender Management Service (NOMS), which is part of the Ministry of Justice. All decisions about the procurement process are being made in consultation and agreement with NOMS and Prison Governors.

Employment

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what assessment he has made of the UK's position in the OECD Employment Protection Index; and what assessment he has made of the relationship between such rankings and growth levels.

Norman Lamb: The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in its reassessment of its Jobs Strategy in 2006 identified the UK as a ‘successful’ employment performer. It also concluded that
	“there is no single combination of policies and institutions to achieve and maintain good labour market performance”.
	They also concluded that
	“this allows scope to tailor policy packages to suit national preferences with respect to equity, risk-taking and other objectives.”
	The UK is a good example of this. The UK's position in the OECD Employment Protection Index indicates that it is a country with light employment protection legislation. This is partly because social protection in the UK tends to be delivered through the tax and benefit system rather than employment regulation. For example, its benefit system tends to be more comprehensive but less generous than in most other countries.
	The UK has one of the highest employment rates in the world and its light employment regulation system is a contributory factor in this. Businesses and workers have the freedom to devise the form of work that suits them. It enables work to be combined with their other responsibilities and the rest of their lives. And this is one of the reasons why, for example, female employment rates are amongst the highest in the world as women can combine work with their family responsibilities.
	The light employment regulation regime also fits well with other parts of the UK system. It helps to deliver the employment opportunities that the UK welfare to work system can translate into jobs. This synergy between the employment regulation systems and the welfare to work policies is one of the reasons why employment held up well during and since the recession—despite the size of the fall in output.
	However, there is still more to do. The Employment Law Review and the welfare to work reforms both aim to make the system even more employment friendly. And the combination these labour market reforms with the Government's other structural and macroeconomic reforms have the objective of not just boosting employment but also growth and incomes.

Employment Agencies: EU Law

Mark Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills whether he has any plans to review the Agency Workers Directive before the end of its two year trial.

Norman Lamb: The Government will monitor the impact of the Agency Workers Regulations on our economy and contribute to the EU Commission's review of the directive in December 2013.
	On 23 November 2011, as part of a package of reforms to employment law, the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, my right hon. Friend the Member for Twickenham (Vince Cable), announced that the Government will review the paperwork obligations of the Agency Workers Regulations in 2013.

Government Departments: Procurement

Virendra Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will take steps to ensure that Government sub-contractors are excluded from further contracts if they fail to pay their suppliers within an agreed time period.

Francis Maude: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Cabinet Office.
	The Government recognise that in the past a culture of late payment for work done made it harder for SMEs to do business with government and introduced complications for suppliers managing their cash flow.
	It is Government policy to pay 80% of undisputed invoices within five days and to pass 30 day payment terms down supply chains by including requirements for suppliers to do so in contracts.

Higher Education

Shabana Mahmood: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what the completion rate was for students enrolled on designated higher education courses in the latest period for which figures are available.

David Willetts: The Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) publishes information on non-continuation rates of undergraduate students, including projected outcomes (completion rates), through the HESA Performance Indicators release. The latest available figures show that 79.2% of full-time students starting first degree courses at English higher education institutions in 2008-09 were expected to complete their course and gain a degree level qualification. Figures for the 2009-10 academic year will become available from 29 March 2012.
	Further information on HESA performance indicators can be found at:
	http://www.hesa.ac.uk/content/view/2072/141/

Higher Education Funding Council for England: Manpower

John Glen: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many staff were employed by the Higher Education and Funding Council for England in (a) 2009-10 and (b) 2010-11; and how many he expects to be employed in (i) 2011-12 and (ii) 2012-13.

David Willetts: holding answer 12 March 2012
	The Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) has confirmed their staffing level as 251 full-time equivalent staff in 2009-10, 247 full-time equivalent staff in 2010-11 and 247 full-time equivalent staff for 2011-12 which includes 23 vacancies. HEFCE are forecasting their staffing levels for 2012-13 will remain at the same level as 2011-12 at 247 full-time equivalent.

Higher Education Funding Council for England: Operating Costs

John Glen: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what the administration and running costs of the Higher Education and Funding Council for England were in 2010-11; and what he expects those costs to be in 2011-12.

David Willetts: holding answer 12 March 2012
	The Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) net total administration and running costs for 2010-11 was £17.243 million. This was reported in their published annual accounts.
	HEFCE's interim accounts for 2011-12 are forecasting administration and running costs of £20.759 million. This figure includes an amount of £4.026 million which in previous years was classified as programme costs. In 2011-12 this was re-categorised following new government guidance on the definition of administration costs. A direct comparison with 2010-11 figures (i.e. with costs categorised on the same basis) would show 2011-12 at a forecast of £16.733 million.

Higher Education: Admissions

Jesse Norman: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what progress he has made on removing the cap on higher education places.

David Willetts: The Higher Education White Paper “Students at the Heart of the System”, published in June 2011, announced reforms to free up at least 85,000 higher education places in academic year 2012-13. Institutions are allowed to compete freely for students with AAB+ grades at A' level or equivalent and have bid for a flexible margin of 20,000 places to support the expansion of good quality and value-for-money provision. We intend to liberalise higher education places further over the course of this Parliament and will make an announcement on arrangements for 2013-14 in due course.

Higher Education: Admissions

James Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many places have been reallocated between higher educational institutions as a result of tuition fee differentials; which institutions have (a) gained and (b) lost places as a result of such reallocation; and if he will publish the most recent figures for student retention for all of the institutions concerned.

David Willetts: In order to increase student choice and support a more diverse higher education sector the Government introduced a flexible margin of 20,000 higher education places in 2012/13. This involved the removal of places from all institutions so that they could be redistributed based on price and quality criteria. The Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) announced the results of this exercise on 7 March 2012. The allocations to institutions are available on the HEFCE website:
	http://www.hefce.ac.uk/news/hefce/2012/margin.htm
	HEFCE will publish figures for the overall effect of student number controls on all institutions when it announces provisional grant allocations on 29 March 2012.
	The Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) publishes information on non-continuation rates of undergraduate students, including non-continuation following year of entry (retention rates), through the HESA Performance Indicators release. The latest available figures show that 89.4% of full-time students starting first degree courses at English higher education institutions in 2008/09 continued at the same institution the following year. Figures for the 2009/10 academic year will become available from 29 March 2012.
	Further information on HESA performance indicators can be found at:
	http://www.hesa.ac.uk/content/view/2072/141/

Higher Education: Admissions

Shabana Mahmood: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will make an estimate of how many student places could be funded at higher education institutions if the loans drawn down by students enrolled on designated courses were instead accessed by students attending Higher Education and Funding Council for England funded institutions.

David Willetts: In 2010/11, the Student Loans Company provided a total of £42 million in grants and loans to around 5,300 full time students attending privately funded institutions so as to help with their studies.
	The same sum would in 2012/13 fund around 3,200 students attending institutions funded by the Higher Education Funding Council for England.

Insolvency: York

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many businesses in the City of York were declared bankrupt in each of the last 10 years.

Norman Lamb: Official statistics covering corporate insolvencies for England and Wales are not currently available at sub-national level.
	Quarterly totals for corporate insolvencies in England and Wales are presented in the Quarterly Insolvency Statistics, the latest publication of which can be found on the Insolvency Service website here:
	http://www.insolvencydirect.bis.gov.uk/otherinformation/statistics/insolvency-statistics.htm

Members: Correspondence

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills when he intends to reply to the letter from the right hon. Member for Leicester East of 7 February 2012 on the final dividend to BCCI creditors.

Norman Lamb: The Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, my right hon. Friend the Member for Twickenham (Vince Cable), has responded to the right hon. Member on 13 March 2012.

Retail Trade: Competition

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills which organisations he has met to discuss the draft Groceries Code Adjudicator Bill in the last 12 months.

Norman Lamb: The Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, my right hon. Friend the Member for Twickenham (Vince Cable), has not met any organisations to discuss the Groceries Code Adjudicator Bill over the last 12 months.
	Since my appointment earlier this year as the Minister responsible for the Groceries Code Adjudicator Bill I have met representatives of both suppliers and retailers to discuss the Groceries Code Adjudicator Bill: specifically the Food and Drink Federation, the British Brands Group, the British Retail Consortium and ASDA.

Students: Loans

Shabana Mahmood: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what assessment he has made of the financial implications of not imposing charges for the early repayment of student loans.

David Willetts: Many borrowers choose to make voluntary early repayments at present. Early repayments of around £251 million were received in the financial year 2010-11. This reduces the long-term public cost of student loans.
	The introduction of a charge for early repayments could have led to changes in borrower behaviour which could affect the level of these repayments.
	If early repayments were to cease entirely, the resource accounting and budgeting (RAB) charge (the cost of the loans to Government) could increase by around 2 percentage points.
	The extent to which charges for early repayment might offset these increased costs would be dependent on the level of the charge and the number of borrowers who still chose to make early repayments.

Students: Loans

Shabana Mahmood: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what quality assurance measures his Department put in place for designated higher education courses on which students may apply for higher education student loans from the Student Loans Company.

David Willetts: The quality assurance arrangements for designated higher education courses depend on the nature of the awarding body and of the qualification being awarded. Universities and other bodies with degree awarding powers are responsible for safeguarding the quality of their teaching and the standards of their academic awards, including the quality and standards of any privately funded provider whose awards they validate. The Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education assesses the way in which universities manage the quality and standards of their partnership arrangements with private providers. Management of collaborative arrangements is assessed as part of institutional review, or, where partnerships form a significant amount of provision, through a separate review of partnerships, or a hybrid of the two.
	Courses leading a Higher National Diploma (HND) or Higher National Certificate (HNC) can be designated for student support and are regulated by Ofqual. Awarding Organisations have to meet Ofqual’s formal “Recognition Criteria” which provides assurance to learners about the quality of regulated qualifications, and they are then subject to compliance with Ofqual's “General Conditions of Recognition” which is monitored on an ongoing basis. Providers offering HNDs and HNCs must satisfy criteria set out by the awarding body to demonstrate they are ‘fit and proper’ to offer them.